William Shakespeare goes with movies about as well as William Shakespeare goes with high school, so it's an easy call to green light a high school
movie adapted from a William Shakespeare play. The play made contemporary is Othello, and the movie is "O", a brooding
modernization that tells the story of the gamut of human emotions and the tragedy that befalls one high school when matters of the heart, the
hardened mind, and the haunted soul converge into a symphony of unspeakable chaos, confusion, and misery. It's just the kind of dark and devious
storytelling that's shaped Shakespeare's best-known tragedies, from Romeo and Juliet to Julius Caesar, the sort that will
captivate young high school readers who give the material a chance rather than unceremoniously brush it off. But movies like "O" are meant
to supplement the text rather than replace it, to aid one's understanding of the story rather than simply rework it. The benefits of
combining a movie like "O" with the original text are easy to see, seeing that the movie does justice to the original, staying true to the core
themes and updating what amounts to window dressing, not fundamentally altering the center.
Manipulating.
At Palmetto Grove, life is basketball, and basketball is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer). James is the best player on
the team by a significant margin. That's indisputable, but even James recognizes that he's not a one-man show. When he receives the team MVP
trophy, he singles out Mike Cassio
(Andrew Keegan, 10 Things I Hate About You) as the second-most important player on
the team, infuriating Hugo Goulding (Josh Hartnett, The Faculty) who believes his own versatility, dedication, and talent
make
him the team MVP, and certainly a better player than Mike. Hugo's also angry that his father, team coach Duke Goulding (Martin Sheen, Apocalypse Now), loves Odin as a son, and seems to love him more
than his own flesh and blood. Odin's in a deep, committed relationship with Desi Brable (Julia Stiles, The Bourne Supremacy), a relationship Hugo plans to use to his
advantage to discredit and disgrace Odin, hoping to then, finally, find the adoration he believes he deserves, both on the court and off.
What's amazing about "O" is how well the material updates to modern times. That's no only because of the quality work on the script and
direction, but it speaks to the universality of the themes and the truth that the core of humanity never changes, or at least hasn't changed from the
days of Shakespeare to the days of 21st century cinema. The movie -- the story -- is centered around raw, base human emotions, immutable
emotions that largely define existence, all of them playing against their antitheses: love and hate, contentment and jealousy, peace and rage, trust
and mistrust, honesty and deceit. For one there is another, an equal balance, but "O" is the story of the negative ones coming to
dominate
in lieu of the positive ones, where simmering negative vibes yield manipulation, mistrust, and even murder. "O" is the story of humanity
not
losing its humanity, but rather by choice or by influence opting to trust and embrace those emotions that lead to pain rather than pleasure through
a
series of events spawned from one festering negative emotion becoming a convergence of evil, in essence a microcosm of the "butterfly effect" or
"domino
theory" of one single, small event triggering a broader collection of happenings.
But simply throwing a handful of emotions into the proverbial blender isn't enough. With so much going on, "O" might have very well
succumb to the pressures of so much happening at the same time, of so many emotions and ideas and plans and whatever else collapsing the
narrative until there's nothing remaining but a pile of unchecked happenings and unfulfilled promises. The story shapes its characters and situations
with precision, the characters defining the emotions and the situations shaping them. Everything comes together in harmony, "harmony," of
course, meaning not peacefulness but rather everything in its appropriate place in terms of story needs. By the time the picture reaches its
inevitable climax, the audience knows where the story is headed but the payoff is the fulfillment of tragedy, not escape from it. The story serves not
as a fictional fix for humanity's ills, but rather a warning sign, a plea for balance and understanding rather than the unchecked fury of adrenaline and
angst and anger and all of the elements that contribute to wearing down and, suddenly and inevitably both, destroying all that was once good, or at
least all that was once stable and with the potential to yield good rather than evil.
Bringing the entire thing together is a quality cast and good direction that both support, not supplant, the core story, that shape it, but do not
explicitly define it. Director Tim Blake Nelson (The Grey Zone) shoots confidently, confident in the story and confident in his actors to carry
the
picture, leaving over-stylization behind in favor of merely framing the material rather than overwhelming it. The cast is largely excellent. Julia Stiles
doesn't bring much more to the role than might any other actress, but she does well in showing her undying love for and trust in Odin, remaining
sure of the relationship only until she begins to see it unwind with speed and malice. Josh Hartnett plays the externally casual and collected
antagonist character with a nearly brilliant dichotomy, playing one character externally and another internally, handling the juxtaposition of exterior
calm and interior rage with precision. He allows the character's jealousy to seep into every inch of the movie, to where it doesn't simply define the
movie, it becomes the movie. Last is Mekhi Phifer's brilliant portrayal of the manipulated and wronged Odin, a man who seems to have his
heart in the right place, his life in order, and who is unflappably dedicated to his girl until he is given reason to suspect her commitment to him. He
makes the transition from center of attention to haunted and troubled individual to almost something of a damned soul remarkably well, desperate
to understand yet in ways afraid to discover.
"O" arrives on Blu-ray with a satisfactory high definition transfer. Like the typical, newer Echo Bridge release of a Miramax title, "O"
delivers an image that's noticeably sharper and more stable than a DVD, but not quite as pristine, eye-popping, and close-to-perfect as are some of the
higher profile back titles released to Blu-ray by the majors. The image features a color palette that ranges from average to slightly dim; the basketball
scenes pop,
revealing vibrant blues and oranges and the light wooden color of the hardwood, but general scenes around campus, interiors and exteriors alike, look
ever-so-slightly drained. Detail, likewise, impresses on the court, where scuffs and scratches and streaks -- not to mention the wooden texture itself --
are readily visible and sharp. Elsewhere, facial and clothing and general details hold their own, but don't exactly impress this far into the Blu-ray game.
A few pops and speckles and blotches are present, as are a few edge halos, but the image is otherwise fairly stable and accurate, and includes a light
sprinkling of grain and noise. This isn't a pristine transfer or an exemplary catalogue release, but it gets the job done adequately and with little effort.
Most viewers should be satisfied, but not thrilled, with the results.
"O" encircles listeners with a quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It lacks the nuance and seamlessness of the finest tracks, but it plays
with enthusiasm, energy, and sufficient clarity. The track never quite seems to absolutely immerse the audience in the film, certainly not with
any real consistency. Surround
information is prominent but not consistent, with music and some elements playing with a decidedly front-heavy feel, while others do indeed seem to
surround the listener. Music, for instance, sometimes stays firmly around the front, but some of the basketball scenes fill the stage with the roar of the
crowd and sounds of the game. Music plays with good clarity and potent beats. Dialogue is accurate and remains firmly planted in the front-center, save
for when it should and does echo about the stage, an example being coach's speech following a game. This isn't a record-setting, all-time great lossless
presentation, but like the video quality, it suits the material well enough and should please its listening audience.
Interviews with the Cast and Director (480p, 1.78:1, 6:53): Participants include Julia Stiles, Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, and Director Tim
Blake Nelson.
"O" won't be remembered as the finest filmed adaptation of a Shakespeare work, made contemporary or otherwise. Yet it's nevertheless a
powerful, gripping story of human decay, of the dangers of hate and manipulation and mistrust and jealousy. It's defined by the core story elements but
given shape through fantastic acting and even direction. It's a challenging watch, a difficult film, but a rewarding experience. Echo Bridge's Blu-ray
release of "O" features good video, strong audio, and a couple of brief supplements. Recommended.
