O (2001)

An update of Shakespeare's 'Othello' with a young cast, set in a high school and centered around basketball player Odin.

Director:

Tim Blake Nelson

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Brad Kaaya (screenplay)

Stars:

Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Andrew Keegan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mekhi Phifer	...	Odin James
Josh Hartnett	...	Hugo Goulding
Andrew Keegan	...	Michael Cassio
Julia Stiles	...	Desi Brable
Rain Phoenix	...	Emily
Elden Henson	...	Roger Rodriguez
Martin Sheen	...	Coach Duke Goulding
John Heard	...	Dean Bob Brable
Anthony Johnson	...	Dell (as Anthony 'A. J.' Johnson)
Chris Dong	...	Dutchman Player
Rachel Shumate	...	Brandy
Marshall Gitter	...	Radio Announcer
Lisa Benavides	...	Ms. Serney
Chris Freihofer	...	Assistant Coach Jeffries
Ken French	...	Scout #1

Storyline

Tough Coach Duke Goulding leaves nothing untried to lead his almost exclusively white boarding school basketball team, the Hawks, to victory after victory, but his own son Hugo feels his polyvalent technical excellence and tireless efforts -which require using stimulants- are not getting anything like the recognition he deserves, especially when coach gives the best player award to Odin James, the only black teammate, even saying he loves Odin like his own son, who in turn only calls super-rich Michael Cassio to share in the honor. So Hugo, who is liked by everyone, decides to set up the boys who stole his glory, and he knows a cocky adolescent's weak points are his pride and his girl. This Dixie Jago schemes to bring down a black Othello and his Cassio, playing into the poisonous power of jealousy, however badly this also hurts their loved ones and the whole team...

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | love | shakespeare's othello | boarding school | basketball player | 

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Taglines:

Nothing comes between two people's love, like one person's jealously.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, a scene of strong sexuality, language and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Othello

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$676,792 (Italy) (20 September 2002)

Gross:

$676,792 (Italy) (20 September 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chickie the Cop, Daniel Fried Productions, FilmEngine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The rally cry the basketball team uses during timeouts ("What time is it? Game time!") is the same one used by the Chicago Bulls throughout the 1990s.

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Goofs

In the end when Emily is confronting Hugo about telling O that Desi was cheating on him, she is pointing in O's direction with her left hand. In the next shot, she has changed hands and is pointing at Hugo.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hugo: All my life I always wanted to fly. I always wanted to live like a hawk. I know you're not supposed to be jealous of anything, but... to take flight, to soar above everything and everyone, now that's living.

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Connections

Version of Omkara (2006)

User Reviews

Disturbing but fascinating

Retelling of Shakespeare's "Othello" set in the year 2000 with high school kids. I've never read "Othello" so I don't know how faithful this is. An alienated high school kid (Josh Hartnett) ignored by his basketball coach father (Martin Sheen chewing the scenery), plots to destroy Odin (Mekhi Phifer) a star player his father adores. Tragedy follows. Fast-paced, somber and disturbing. The characters talk and act like real kids--you get to know and understand them so the violence that erupts at the end is very upsetting. Excellent acting, especially by Julia Stiles (as Odin's girlfriend Desi), Phifer and Hartnett (who's absolutely chilling). The only bad acting is by Sheen--way too over the top. This is an extreme film--lots of swearing, a disturbing sex scene and the killings at the end. Worth seeing but depressing. Sat on the shelf for 2 years because Miramax was afraid of it. Good thing Lions Gate bought it and released it.