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Movie Review for O
Movie Review for
O
83 Reviews total.
Release date: 8/31/2001
Run length: 91 mins.
Categories:
Adaptation
,
Drama
,
Teen
Summary:
Deep in the American South, NBA hopeful Odin James is the only black student at an elite private school. Playing point guard, Odin is a basketball scout's dream, possessing the talent to go straight from high school to the pros. Odin not only enjoys widespread popularity with the students, he is dating the beautiful Desi Brable, daughter of Dean Brable. Odin's best friend, Hugo Goulding, is a starting forward on the basketball team and the son of Coach Duke Goulding. Hugo is bitterly envious of Odin and the attention he receives from the coach and everyone else. Placed in the role of Odin's confidante, Hugo is, in reality, seeking to destroy his friend. Striking at the very core of Odin's soul, Hugo convinces him that Desi is having an affair with another member of the basketball team, Michael Casio. As the basketball season comes to a dramatic finish, conflict among the friends escalates into irrevocable tragedy when Hugo executes a plan prompting Odin to throw away all he cares about most.
Reviews of O
By
Brian Webster
of Apollo Guide (8/0)
Its beauty is in the seamless transformation of a hundreds-of-years-old story to a 21st century s...
By
Luisa F. Ribeiro
of Boxoffice Magazine (8/0)
Nelson and Kaaya's creativity and their smart young cast confirm the Bard's amazing ability to re...
By
Roger Ebert
of Chicago Sun-Times (8/0)
A good film for most of the way, and then a powerful film at the end.
By
Bilge Ebiri
of Citysearch (8/0)
Director Tim Blake Nelson brings an invigorating sense of style to this story.
By
Paul Tatara
of CNN.com (8/0)
O may not be a classic adaptation, but it works a lot better than it should have.
By
Harvey S. Karten
of Compuserve (8/0)
Will must be chillin' and rappin' in his grave.
Reviews of O
By
Scott Von Doviak
of culturevulture.net (8/0)
The time has come for Mr. Shakespeare to graduate from high school.
By
Jeff Vice
of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (8/0)
Comes off as surprisingly slack and punchless, and doesn't come close to pulling off some of its ...
By
Erik Childress
of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
Manages to default its own power by ending on a far more disturbing and insulting note than teena...
By
Emanuel Levy
of EmanuelLevy.Com (8/0)
Long on the Shelf, O is well directed and decently acted, but its narrative, while more or less f...
By
Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly (8/0)
To an astonishing degree, O gets the tragic Shakespeare mood, that somber stentorian passion born...
By
Eric D. Snider
of EricDSnider.com (8/0)
This is a movie that holds your interest, but doesn't do anything with it.
Reviews of O
By
Walter Chaw
of Film Freak Central (8/0)
It neglects the requirements of narrative in favour of allegorical socio-political notions that a...
By
Ed Kelleher
of Film Journal International (8/0)
Helmer Nelson has fashioned a clever premise, helped along by a smart ensemble that manages to hi...
By
Christopher Null
of filmcritic.com (8/0)
When the murderous finale eventually rolls around, it doesn't play as remotely believable.
By
Victoria Alexander
of FilmsInReview.com (8/0)
It almost works but, because O did not go as far as it should, fails to capture the true drama of...
By
Rob Vaux
of Flipside Movie Emporium (8/0)
It understands its source material, and it helps us to understand it as well.
By
Donald Munro
of Fresno Bee (8/0)
We see that violence comes at a price. That's a valuable lesson for us all -- whether we're young...
Reviews of O
By
Liam Lacey
of Globe and Mail (8/0)
A worthy experiment, though far from a slamdunk.
By
Eric Lurio
of Greenwich Village Gazette (8/0)
They follow the original plot pretty closely, but what worked back in 1605 doesn't work in 1998.
By
Ross Anthony
of Hollywood Report Card (8/0)
progressively fewer fragile uplifting beats, so if you like down films ... "O" is certain to take...
By
Kirk Honeycutt
of Hollywood Reporter (8/0)
Comes across as a potent drama, extremely well-acted by its leads.
By
Eric Harrison
of Houston Chronicle (8/0)
This version of Othello speaks eloquently and directly to contemporary audiences, rendering Shake...
By
Steve Rhodes
of Internet Reviews (8/0)
Pretty boy Josh Hartnett, last seen unimpressively in Pearl Harbor, delivers an even more underwh...
Reviews of O
By
Bruce Kirkland
of Jam! Movies (8/0)
Like many of Shakespeare's plays, it tackles human frailities with bold intelligence. This O does...
By
Louis B. Hobson
of Jam! Movies (8/0)
An absolutely brilliant drama that should be required viewing for teens, their parents and their ...
By
JoBlo
of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (8/0)
A very powerful, thoroughly depressing, well-acted 'non-teen' movie starring a bunch of teens.
By
James Sanford
of Kalamazoo Gazette (8/0)
The movie is violent and alarming, but in no way does it endorse or glamorize killing as a soluti...
By
Robert Roten
of Laramie Movie Scope (8/0)
Hartnett is electric in his portrayal of this truly evil, twisted character.
By
Bob Strauss
of Los Angeles Daily News (8/0)
An abject lesson in just how far you can't go to make Shakespeare contemporary and relevant for t...
Reviews of O
By
Mark Dujsik
of Mark Reviews Movies (8/0)
Takes a tragic phenomenon and puts it both in a universal and intelligent context.
By
Matt Easterbrook
of Matt's Movie Reviews (8/0)
Instead of banning things like this, we should be showing them; a movie like O could teach us all...
By
Duane Dudek
of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/0)
A potent and thoughtful film.
By
Kevin N. Laforest
of Montreal Film Journal (8/0)
And then there's Josh Hartnett, what can I say... Who knew he had such a performance in him?
By
Marty Mapes
of Movie Habit (8/0)
Tragedy in art is good for the soul. It's a reminder that life is not completely under our contro...
By
Nell Minow
of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (8/0)
Works exceptionally well in a high school setting because so much of the plot fits in with the ov...
Reviews of O
By
Michael Elliott
of Movie Parables (8/0)
What is missing from this modern version is an inner depth or richness to the characters which wo...
By
Michael Dequina
of Mr. Brown's Movies (8/0)
By far the most successful modern-dress adaptation of a William Shakespeare work--and the rare te...
By
Andrew Sarris
of New York Observer (8/0)
In the end, the Shakespearean ideas collapse on film because of the youthful callowness of the ch...
By
John Anderson
of Newsday (8/0)
Very little seems to work, or matter, or make much sense.
By
Jim Chastain
of Norman Transcript (8/0)
This film should be commended for its willingness to discuss the controversial and for creating a...
By
Jeffrey Westhoff
of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (8/0)
Watching these events carried out by teenagers is not tragic but sad, a needless waste of young l...
Reviews of O
By
Edward Johnson-Ott
of NUVO Newsweekly (8/0)
This is a bumpy ride.
By
Frank Swietek
of One Guy's Opinion (8/0)
In this case, unhappily, 'O' stands not so much for 'Othello' as for
'Zero.'
By
Kim Morgan
of Oregonian (8/0)
An odd teen drama that works in its curious remoteness.
By
Jay Boyar
of Orlando Sentinel (8/0)
If the plot is largely Shakespearean, the most important nuances get lost along the way.
By
Jeanne Aufmuth
of Palo Alto Weekly (8/0)
Supremely stylish and uncomfortably threatening.
By
Cynthia Fuchs
of Philadelphia City Paper (8/0)
For the most part ... O respects its young characters and potential viewers.
Reviews of O
By
Gary Thompson
of Philadelphia Daily News (8/0)
Those looking for a faithful adaptation may find that O is caught, awkwardly, between the twin th...
By
Jon Popick
of Planet Sick-Boy (8/0)
Hartnett really shines as the oft-overlooked Hugo, who is one of the most likable, admirable anta...
By
James Kendrick
of Q Network Film Desk (8/0)
Othello's themes of jealousy, betrayal, and deception are particularly applicable to the realm of...
By
David Nusair
of Reel Film Reviews (8/0)
While O does contain some good performances and a creative sense of direction by Tim Blake Nelson...
By
Mike Gregory
of Reel.com (8/0)
This update of Othello ... actually does the Bard proud.
By
Jack Garner
of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (8/0)
Deserves to be seen, both for the conversation it should spark about the causes of violence and f...
Reviews of O
By
Joe Baltake
of Sacramento Bee (8/0)
An interesting experiment with some occasional moments of great power.
By
Jim Lane
of Sacramento News & Review (8/0)
If nothing else, it makes a good intro to the play for high school English classes.
By
Charles Taylor
of Salon.com (8/0)
A plodding, earnest adaptation that strips the source of its richness and ambiguity.
By
Sean Means
of Salt Lake Tribune (8/0)
A good idea felled by lackluster execution.
By
David Elliott
of San Diego Union-Tribune (8/0)
The oddball O is a blunt answer to the conceptual question: When is Shakespeare no longer Shakesp...
By
Mick LaSalle
of San Francisco Chronicle (8/0)
A tale of teen violence takes on qualities of timelessness and universality it would not otherwis...
Reviews of O
By
Joe Leydon
of San Francisco Examiner (8/0)
A potent and provocative piece of work.
By
Jim Judy
of Screen It! (8/0)
It's certainly a good stepping-stone for generating discussions about teen violence that it thank...
By
Gina Carbone
of Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (8/0)
O, that this too, too solid film would mesh, thaw and resolve itself with the Bard.
By
Sean Axmaker
of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/0)
The pathological envy, racism, fear and jealousy that drive Shakespeare's "Othello" make a scary ...
By
Misha Berson
of Seattle Times (8/0)
This intelligent, well-paced film rendition forgoes the Elizabethan verse, while capturing the di...
By
Ed Gonzalez
of Slant Magazine (8/0)
Shakespeare's Othello meets Columbine in this messy little teen drama.
Reviews of O
By
Todd Anthony
of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (8/0)
A deft reimagining of a work of classic literature.
By
Rob Blackwelder
of SPLICEDWire (8/0)
The key to Othello is making the audience consider a guy who strangles his spouse out of jealousy...
By
Tony Toscano
of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (8/0)
The updated story is well written and intriguing.
By
Dustin Putman
of TheMovieBoy.com (8/0)
As unflinchingly honest as any so-called 'teen' film to come out in ages...one of the most though...
By
Richard Schickel
of TIME Magazine (8/0)
On your already groaning Shakespeare for Teens video shelf, stack this one above 10 Things I Hate...
By
Audrey Rock-Richardson
of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (8/0)
Credit is to be given to Shakespeare for creating a plot so heavy that it gives weight even to a ...
Reviews of O
By
Alex Keen
of Trades (8/0)
It took the mature teenagers of Dawson's Creek and added the intense tragedy and drama of Shakesp...
By
Ken Fox
of TV Guide's Movie Guide (8/0)
Dark, intelligent.
By
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
of UK Critic (8/0)
The camera is subtle but insistent in how it views characters with darkness, pity and suspicion.
By
Amy Taubin
of Village Voice (8/0)
An unresolved mixture of gimmickry and good intentions.
By
Desson Thomson
of Washington Post (8/0)
Without the poetry, a retelling of Othello becomes paved with believability problems -- especiall...
By
Rita Kempley
of Washington Post (8/0)
A worthy, well-acted attempt to transform Shakespeare's Othello into a tragic touchstone for mode...
Reviews of O
By
Susan Granger
of www.susangranger.com (8/0)
This is a serious exploration of prejudice, jealousy, bullying and youth violence, yet it's R-rat...
By
Dave White
of IFilm (7/1) No reference
Senseless teenage violence and death gets serious, unromantic treatment.
By
Lawrence Toppman
of Charlotte Observer (7/1) Not Reachable
The filmmakers have a vision of the way Shakespeare can be made vibrant and vital to modern viewe...
By
Rene Rodriguez
of Miami Herald (7/1) Not Reachable
What O lacks in believability, it more than makes up for with a stunning relevancy.
By
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
of St. Paul Pioneer Press (7/1) Not Reachable
As played by St. Paul's Josh Hartnett, Hugo is a fascinating, disturbing character.
Movie Distributors
Lionsgate Production Companies
Chickie the Cop Productions
FilmEngine
Dimension Films
Daniel Fried Entertainment Movie Studios
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