After starring in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Julia Stiles does another movie adapting Shakespeare into a modern high school setting. This one is called O, and is based on Othello. Stiles plays a white girl named Desi who is in a relationship with Odin, a black student who wins basketball games for the school again and again. Another player, Hugo, becomes jealous and plots to tear Odin and Desi apart.
A possible problem in making a movie like O is that it might be interpreted as a racist warning for white women- "Ladies, if you're going to date a black guy, be prepared to accept some rape and strangling." (Odin does both to Desi; although she later denies being raped, she technically was because she told Odin to stop and he didn't). But the movie almost certainly isn't trying to promote that kind of message. Perhaps a better view is that race is a secondary issue in O and the real issues are teen jealousy, angst and violence. And that's good subject matter- after the 1999 Columbine high school shootings, teen violence becomes a more relevant issue- there should be more stories trying to tackle it. I found the concept of high school tragedy interesting, and this movie had some solid moments.
Still, there are flaws. First off I'll note some of the songs used in this movie just don't fit a tragedy- it's just music that Odin might like. The song Painted On My Heart was used in this movie's brilliant trailer; it should have been used in the movie, too. Turning now to the plot, it's arguable that Odin is too easily manipulated, too quick to deteriorate. We probably don't have enough time to sympathize with him before he goes crazy- like in the rape scene. Beyond that, there are some examples of second-rate acting, like from the girl angry about getting the scarf. Sill, O is entertaining, worth seeing at least.
A possible problem in making a movie like O is that it might be interpreted as a racist warning for white women- "Ladies, if you're going to date a black guy, be prepared to accept some rape and strangling." (Odin does both to Desi; although she later denies being raped, she technically was because she told Odin to stop and he didn't). But the movie almost certainly isn't trying to promote that kind of message. Perhaps a better view is that race is a secondary issue in O and the real issues are teen jealousy, angst and violence. And that's good subject matter- after the 1999 Columbine high school shootings, teen violence becomes a more relevant issue- there should be more stories trying to tackle it. I found the concept of high school tragedy interesting, and this movie had some solid moments.
Still, there are flaws. First off I'll note some of the songs used in this movie just don't fit a tragedy- it's just music that Odin might like. The song Painted On My Heart was used in this movie's brilliant trailer; it should have been used in the movie, too. Turning now to the plot, it's arguable that Odin is too easily manipulated, too quick to deteriorate. We probably don't have enough time to sympathize with him before he goes crazy- like in the rape scene. Beyond that, there are some examples of second-rate acting, like from the girl angry about getting the scarf. Sill, O is entertaining, worth seeing at least.