"O" (Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles)

[Mike]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005U8EL.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

"O" is a brilliant film. I've heard quite a few people say that it didn't follow Shakespeare's Othello or that it's just another interracial romance movie and that it's prejudice. But to those people, did you even read Othello? Or did you read it but not understand it? Because "O" follows Shakespeare's Othello quite accurately, it's just set in a high school. That's it, that's pretty much the only difference, the setting is different. And they didn't use Shakespeare's language, and I must say I'm glad. I really can't picture watching this movie with it. Hell, almost nobody would understand the movie if they didn't speak english.

"O" is for movie fans, because most regular people that I know didn't like it. This girl at work was saying that she didn't like it because the ending was sad. I mean HELLO, it's Shakespeare, it's not supposed to end happily. And my sister hated it because of the ending too, she was bawling her head off during the end. If you are a movie fan, most likely you'll enjoy it.

I personally loved the ending, the last 15 minutes or so are what make the movie so powerful. I liked it better because of the ending. With a happy ending I really wouldn't have enjoyed it. I mean, what would be the point? Tragic was the only way to go and it was very well done. The whole movie you know it won't end happily, you can just tell by the tone of the film.

Anyway, "O" is absolutely amazing and one of the best films of 2001. It's very underrated. I was extremely pissed when it didn't do that great at the Box Office. Even that stupid piece of shit Summer Catch made more than this movie. What is this world coming to?

Acting:

JOSH HARTNETT -

Josh Hartnett IS this movie. He did an amazing job. His performance as Hugo is his best yet. It's one of the first times where I actually cared about the villan. I knew what he was doing was wrong but yet I couldn't help but like him. And I have no idea why. It was like I wanted to believe he wasn't doing anything, but you know he is.
Josh Hartnett was great and I don't think any other actor could have done any better.

MEKHI PHIFER -

Mekhi Phifer did a very good job but sometimes I didn't like his character. Sometimes he acted like an ass and he got on my nerves. His character was a little stereotypical and I didn't like that. But Mekhi still gave an excellent performance.

JULIA STILES -

Julia did a very good job with what she had to work with. She didn't have much to do but when she was on screen she sizzled. She is a very good actress. I really liked her character.

DVD - DELETED SCENES

The deleted scenes were interesting to watch. Two of them stood out and I think should have been kept in the movie. "The Caffeteria Scene" and the "Odin and Desi" scene should have been left in the movie. I thought they were really good.


"O" is a very powerful film and I recommend everyone check it out. If you don't you don't know what you're missing.

THIS IS NOT A TEEN MOVIE AND IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE!!!

OVERALL DVD -

I was a little disappointed with the DVD. I'm glad it's a 2 disc set but I would have loved to have seen more extras. And the interviews were too short. I would have liked to have heard more about the controversy about the movie and why it took so long to release. I know why but I would have liked to have heard more about it. It's a good DVD but I wanted more.

DVD - *** of *****

Movie: 9/10

[Horror whore]

I am definitley outnumbered but I hated the movie! It's so pointlessly sappy! Was there any real point to the movie, just to show how screwed up teenagers can be? I dunno. When I first saw "O" in theaters I gave it a 5/10 for not going down the typical Holloywood ending path...But after viewing the DVD I liked it even worse. The acting is good but that can't save a bad movie. And my sister watched it and she said it was stupid and she likes everything. And my dad watched it and HE said it was stupid. And my new boyfriend watched yesterday and HE said it was stupid. So I'm outnumbered on the board but not in real life...? It confuses me...

4/10

[The Professional]

I agree with you. the original play othello wasn't that great and neither is this film. 5.5/10

[inglourious basterd]

Maybe a year ago, I would have agreed with Professional and Whore about this movie. The thing is that, now, at this new point of my life, I found this movie to be incredible. I found the translation of Shakespeare's complex themes to be ingenious. This was not a narrative by any means and anyone who was looking for a cleanly wrapped "point" would end up disappointed.

This movie, like the play, was about many things including the costs of jealousy, the loss of innocence, and it worked well as an analysis of what we, as society, believe to be important. Odin and Hugo were not the main characters; instead, the character that shined in his performance was Jealousy himself. "He" is what made it successful in the 1600's and that is what made it great to me in the year 2002.

8/10



[This message has been edited by psudoazn (edited 02-25-2002).]

[thompsoncory]

I thought that the movie was great. Keep in mind that I have never read the "Othello" play, and it still seemed great to me. The ending was so depressing, however, but I don't see how it could have ended any other way. I would overall give it about an 8/10.

[The Heart Collector]

I saw this bad boy yesterday and liked it alot. Probably a 7.5/10 for me. Everything in the story clicked, especially the acting. I'm in private school too, and as Josh Hartnett said it, it's just "spoiled rich fucks". The only aspect of the movie that didn't work for me was that it began too quickly. 5 minutes into the movie and Hugo was already plotting the whole thing. Still, it's a pretty solid movie, and you get a good sense of desperation at the end, when the plan starts to miserably fail.

[Jacker]

Is this in anyway a "chick flick?" I'm thinking about renting it do to Mike's review. He makes it sound cool, but you other people make it sound similar to "Bully." A movie I hated. Just screwed up teenagers. Will I be entertained through this? I need to know! I have a friend that hated it, but she's to critical anyway, so I try not to listen to her.

[Mike]

Jacker,

I say give it a try, it's a very good movie and although I haven't seen Bully I know it's not as graphic. You should definitely like it better than Bully. And no, I wouldn't really call it a chick flick. But check it out and see for yourself.

[Jacker]

And so I will. I'll come back to this thread after I see it to let you know if I'll ever listen to you again. Hehehehehe!

[Jacker]

"O" was pretty good. I can see whre people wouldn't like it though. On the surface it just seems like some kid hates everyone and wants attention. I found it to be a story of the darker side of human emotion. Couldn't something like jealousy drive us to things that were unimaginable?

I thought the acting was good, and the film well made. I found the booming hip hop soundtrack kind of annoying. Maybe it could have done w/o the drugs and had O running on pure pain of his emotions. All in all, I'll give it a 7/10. Definetely something different from all the other teen movies.

[Mike]

Glad you liked it Jacker.

[Jacker]

Me to! I guess I'll listen to you next time.lol

[EDsoulsurvive*]

ok, i saw this movie a few days ago, and let me just say, i was blown away. I had no idea what would happen in the end and i think the conclusion was perfect. However, i didn't understand why Hugo wanted Odin to kill Desi and Micheal. I thought that was a little extreme but in the end, he went phsyco, so i guess it all works out. Also, i don't understand y Odin went through with it and was so agreeing with Hugo's plan. If i were him, after Hugo told me his plan, i'd have said "Your fucken crazy" and left him alone. overall- 8/10

[Kavan]

I rented this movie after seeing that in my circle of friends everyone either totally loved it or flat out hated it.

I found it interesting the box listed O as the most controversial film of the year. For me the question that raises does controversy always breed quality. For O I think the answer is elusive.

O joins my list with AI as a movie that I think had some amazing ideas but wasn't totally successful at expressing those ideas.

For those not in the know (and if you are go read the play it's incredible) Othello is the story of an interracial love match and it's unraveling by a jealous, vindictive "friend".

This version modernizes everything, and moves it into a high school. Mekhi Phifer gives a star making performance as O. He really shows all the complexities and dimensions of a guy living a life totally different than the one he expected. I'm usually not a Julia Stiles fan but she is very good here. Josh Harnett is a good actor but he's undone by the script.

My big problem with this film is the script.
Yes in parts it's great but in other parts it's wildly uneven jumping from one plot to another to another without explaining the moves.

Harnett does a pretty good job with Hugo but the script gives him no support whatsoever. Why does Hugo feel so relentlessly alone? Why is he so competitive? Why does he continue plotting long after he's emotionally destroyed Othello.

I think moving the story to high school had to be an exciting concept but I think it causes some serious problems.

In the play Othello was undone by the fact the one truly great thing in his life was being lost to him. But in the movie O has many great things. He's an amazing athlete, he's attending a great school, his coach adores him. Yes his relationship with Desi is a good one but I didn't buy the enormity of it.

I also think EW brought up a good point this film is almost disturbing in the amount of rage it shows. To see the hero descend in a sprial of busted glass, stranglings, etc is disturbing. But that's the point.

I agree with others the final 15 mins are spellbinding. And Hugo is allowed in the last minutes to explain what should have been said before. But I still have reservations about all that went before it.

6/10

[urbanlegend23]

Woah holy crap was I ever blown away by this flick! I just watched it on Pay-per-view and it was a GREAT movie! I was expecting it to be good but this movie was flat-out excellent, so much more than I was expecting. It was graphic but also poetic and sad. It was very mature for a teen movie and the acting was awsome, especially Josh Hartnett. I only wish Julia Stiles had been in it more.

Sorry this isn't an in-depth review, I need more time to gather my thoughts on this brilliant movie. I really am BLOWN AWAY!

9/10

[movies35]

Very good drama 10/10. I just loved it and I bought that DVD the day it came out for 15 bucks

[Hucksta G]

This movie dealt with the dark side of human behaviour very well. The acting was great by all the young cast and Mr. Sheen himself. In the end I was left wondering waht the point was in it all and this movie definitly isnt for everyone.

My Rating: 7/10

[urbanlegend23]

Care to elaborate on that, Hucksta G?

[Hucksta G]

There you are.

[thompsoncory]

This was one of the best films of 2001 for being an above-average teen film with a story to tell, a moral to get across, and roles that required actual acting. Mekhi Phifer proves he is a great actor in this, as does Josh Hartnett, and Julia Stiles shines as always. The supporting cast is also very good. The whole film really takes you into a world with these characters, so all through the very tragic ending I couldn't help but feel sorry for everyone. A great film that, as Mike said, is not for everyone.

9/10

[Snowboy]

A pretty decent flick. The idea of putting Othello in a modern-day setting was definitely a good one, and was pretty well-executed, but I felt that Julia Stiles' role was severely underused. Actually, that's probably my only really big complaint about the film. Otherwise, it's a good, solid drama, with some great acting, especially from Josh Hartnett. 7/10

[PsycoPat]

I liked this movie movie VERY much (8/10) and I think people made good points. What I found so interesting, and what made me REALLY want to see this movie was the behind-the-scenes drama in getting this movie to the screen...

The shooting of the film was unremarkable and they powered right through the script . Josh Hartnett, Meki Phifer, and Julia Stiles were all relative unknowns...

***mild spoilers(u can still read even if you haven't seen it)***

The movie was set to be released (By Miramax) then Columbine happened. Because there is gun play at some point involving highschool kids they delayed the realease out of respect for the victims...

Then the 2000 presidential election happened and at the time violence in movies became a hot issue. Harvey Weinstein was a MAJOR Gore supporter , and he didn't want to release a movie that might cause trouble so he decided it would NEVER be released.

Predictibly there was a fair ammount of litigation after that...

The end result: It was finally released by Lion's Gate nearly two years after they wrapped production. In the mean time Pfifer, Stiles, and Hartnett all became much higher profile actors, and the movie became much more marketable...

Like I said I really enjoyed the finished product.

[JazzcatCB]

I personally can't stand it when they take a Shakesperean play and adapt it to modern day english. Shakespeare's plays were more than just dialogue, they were *poetry* set to Elizabethan english. Yes, it's a challenge to interpret the meaning, but good poetry is challenging--and rewarding, and profound, and beautiful.

When you take the original Shakesperean language out of a Shakesperean play, you take everything that makes it uniquely Shakespeare out of the play.

[robk]

O's director, TIm Blake Nelson, later made a memorable appearance in Minority Report as the fellow who likes to play the organ while watching all the Pre-Crime convicts in suspended animation.