Starring Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, John Heard. Written by Brad Kaaya. Directed by Tim Blake Nelson. Based on the play Othello by William Shakespeare. Odin (Phifer) is the star sophomore basketball player at elite Palmetto Grove Academy, and the only black student on the high school campus. He has been recruited by the intense and ambitious coach Duke (Sheen), who has his eyes on parlaying his success into a position in a university basketball program. His son Hugo (Hartnett) is a utility player on the team, a starter, but a guy who sets the screens and makes the pass to make the star look good. Odin is in love with the Dean's beautiful daughter Desi (Stiles). The team ends the regular season as division champions, and is headed toward the state finals, and the coach warmly embraces Odin as the team MVP. Hugo thinks a sophomore shouldn't be getting the award, being as he plays several positions and does all the dirty work to make Odin look good. He sets a plan in motion to plant seeds of doubt in Odin's head about Desi's faithfullness with another player on the team who has always been her best friend. Odin doesn't believe it at first but he soon can't think straight, affecting his game, his mood and especially his relationship with Desi. But Hugo's plan doesn't go exactly as he designed it. The story of Othello has been updated to a modern high school setting without the use of any of Shakespearean language. Hugo is Iago, the jealous and cunning friend of the moor Othello (Odin), and Desi the beautiful Desdemona. Miramax originally owned the film, but got cold feet in releasing at its scheduled time in 1999, right around the Columbine high school massacre. Miramax sold the rights to Lions Gate Films, who has now released it. The film was made prior to the Columbine tragedy and in no way mirrors the events there, but instead is faithful to the original Othello story where the wages of envy and jealousy result in calamity. Not too long ago Miramax was making challenging and cutting-edge films without fear. That was pre-Disney buyout. Come to think of it, Hollywood seemed to relish controversy, using a protest or even mini-riot as free publicity, such as with the Silence Of The Lambs and the Basic Instinct gay protests and racial controversy with Do The Right Thing and Boyz 'N' The Hood. Hollywood has gone gutless, and in this particular case for no real reason. Despite logical problems with the motivations of several key players in the climatic confrontation, the ending is not overdone, but shot and performed with intensity. And unlike many films and even Shakespearean plays where we get to hear long speeches where characters justify themselves, it was great to see a key character refrain from spilling his guts even when pressed to do so. The film is well-written from the point-of-view of providing Hugo with the motivation to betray Odin and set his revenge in motion. A large part of this success is because of the fine acting of Josh Hartnett. Last seen with his aw-shucks-ain't-I-pretty grin in Pearl Harbor, you would think from that film he was aiming to be the next Freddie Prinze. But instead, he beautifully displays the hurt and anger in being taken for granted by his father because Hugo has always done well, and from dad's fawning and obvious affection for Odin. And the fact that Othello / Odin gains doubts over Desdemona's / Desi's faithfullness based on pure rumour and circumstance is made believable. Although, several times I wanted to yell at the screen for Odin to just talk to her and straighten the mess out. Phifer and Stiles are both very good in their roles and have nice chemistry together. Sheen is particularly good as the driven basketball coach who inadvertently sets the jealously in motion. Incidently, the basketball scenes are few, but are exciting and well-filmed. This has not been a good summer of film. Other than Ghost World, I saw nothing that gave me anything close to excitement about a film. Sure, there were several films that rose to the level of pretty good, but several weeks I couldn't be bothered to go out and see one of the three or four films that had come out because they seemed so unoriginal and uninspiring - often remakes and sequels (and those were among the better films of the summer) and knockoffs of films from the recent past . O falls in the better category and while it does not contain that spark of greatness that was missing this summer, it is worth seeing for the fine performances and solid story. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page