All Pop - Movies

There is a long tradition of adapting the plays of William Shakespeare to a new time, place and milieu, so it is no shock that someone would rework Othello in an American high school basketball setting in the 1990s.

The surprise is that director Tim Blake Nelson, with his deft touch, and writer Brad Kaaya, with his sophisticated script, have done such a fine job of setting up the drama in this youthful environment without losing the essence of the play.

In this version, Othello is now Odin (the riveting Mekhi Phifer), the only black in a de facto segregated community in Charleston, S.C. The young man happens to be the otherwise all-white school's star basketball player.

The evil Iago of the play is now a seriously-troubled, even psychotic, youth named Hugo (Josh Hartnett from Pearl Harbor). He also plays on the team, which is coached by his domineering father (the excellent Martin Sheen). His envy and ultimately his rage is fueled by the love his father withholds from him and extends so freely to Odin. His motivation is clear.

The pawn in Hugo's game to hatch his vengeful plot on the innocent Odin is the modern Desdemona, a bright young woman named Desi (played by the beguiling Julia Stiles).

The story is played out beautifully in the first two acts as the characters develop, complex tensions are layered in, racial questions are subtly raised and themes are heightened.

Unfortunately, the movie runs into mechanical problems: The violent climaxes that cap off this most disturbing of Shakespearean tragedies are clumsily staged here, damaging the credibility of the piece. Director Nelson (best known as the clown actor from O Brother, Where Art Thou?) is better at heavy character scenes than violent action sequences.

But the timeless relevance of the 400-year-old story still emerges. This O still plumbs the murky depths of jealousy, envy and uncontrollable rage. This O still explores the nature of the evil that lurks within us all.

So I'm aghast that O was held up for two years before being released, all because of the Columbine massacre. Because the movie characters are now high school kids and not Venetian aristocrats and Moorish soldiers, there is violence in a high school setting. Columbine occurred after filming but before the original release date. The distributors, Disney's Miramax arm (which later sold it off to Lions Gate) panicked.

Now we see that the film could have helped heal the wound for frightened Americans because, like many of Shakespeare's plays, it tackles human frailities with bold intelligence. This O does not exploit or glorify violence, it explains it.

The Ontario Film Review Board should also be criticized. It gave O a "Restricted" rating, harsher than any other jurisdiction in North America. This stand is due to a prolonged, simulated love scene between Stiles and Phifer. It is discreetly shot, shows nothing naughty and is absolutely crucial to the unfolding of the plot. To cut it or deny teens access to it is ridiculous because this provocative film deserves to be seen by youth as well as adults.

Review: High school O earns B+