You won't be disappointed!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Just perfect...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I guess if this was a Shakespeare interpretation then I understand why everyone in the film was stupid. Of course this is a normal plot device for Shakespeare, but speaking as a person who did not make that Shakespeare connection, I hated this movie. If you are going to update Shakespeare you have to change it so it doesn't frustrate the heck out of the audience. Everyone in this film except the deceiver was stupid, aloof, and easily deceived. So as a critique of Shakespeare, his productions cannot be updated without insulting every character in the film. It cannot be updated without asking the audience to believe that people are very easy to deceive even today. At the end of this movie I had disdain for every character. The whole movie made no sense at all, I would have turned it off about 1/4 way through it, because it was insulting. I say, update Shakespeare in a creative way, but do not insult the audience with a modern interpretation without modern sensibilities. This movie sucked, but OK, it was just Shakespeare.

"'O' is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. He has the adoration of all, including the team's coach (Martin Sheen) and Dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (Julia Stiles). Odin's troubled friend Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the coach's son is deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court. When Hugo plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seeds of mistrust between 'O' and Desi, it sets in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity. 'O' is a stunning tale that will stay with you long after its final, powerful frame," according to the promotional synopsis.And, like it promises: "O" features, "Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, 'Othello.'" The Shakespearian plot is still good, after all these centuries. But, the transference of these events to a "high school" setting doesn't work. As a whole, the actors do not look or act between 14-18 years old; at one point, Mr. James says they're eighteen (a wise age to pick, from range available). Granted, with retention and steroids, many athletes look much older, presently - still, "O" doesn't balance this with age appropriate casting (or behavior).Making the age matter worse is a script which really doesn't really ring true. This story, with its controversy likely related to violent real-life teenage mass murderers, doesn't possess the degree of teen angst and alienation necessary to bring that slant to the tale. And, it doesn't fit the "Othello" plot.The cast and direction are very good, though… why didn't somebody suggest a college setting? ***** O (5/26/01) Tim Blake Nelson ~ Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles

One of the wave of teen-Shakespeare adaptations of the late 1990s/early 2000s, "O" resets the story of "Othello" among basketball players at an elite South Carolina prep school. It follows the original story very closely, changing only a few incidents in order to fit with the idea that the characters are now teenagers. For instance, now Hugo (the Iago figure, played by Josh Hartnett) is jealous of Odin (the Othello figure, Mekhi Phifer) because Hugo's dad, the basketball coach (Martin Sheen) favors Odin and ignores his own son.Unfortunately, making the characters teenagers just points up the implausibility of the story. While you could say that the amount of bloodshed and death at the end of Shakespeare's play is also hard to believe, at least those characters are military men living in a violent and patriarchal culture. It's much less credible that a modern-day prep school student could be coaxed into killing his supposedly unfaithful girlfriend.Phifer has some good moments when he depicts Odin's anguish, but isn't able to convince us that his character would so quickly resort to murder. Julia Stiles, as girlfriend Desi, is mostly weak and whiny. Hartnett overuses his furrowed eyebrows and whisper-voice to signal Hugo's dark intentions--and while handsome, he lacks the diabolical charisma necessary for this role. Indeed, the movie makes him almost sympathetic, which is problematic because then Odin seems more like a villain, the stereotypical "angry black kid." The worst things about "O" are its heavy-handed symbolism involving birds (hawks and doves) and its laughably bad dialogue. Its strings of clichés and swear words, supposedly representing teen-speak, would be irritating in any movie, but it feels even worse since we know that "O" was adapted from Shakespeare. When the movie tries to rewrite Shakespeare's memorable lines, it's even more painful. Iago's famous speech denouncing the idea of "reputation" becomes Hugo saying "Reputation, who gives a f***?" So, while it was a worthy idea to try to adapt the Othello story to a contemporary setting, I doubt that the reputations of the actors, director and screenwriter have been enhanced by their participation in "O."

This is a wonderful interpretation of Shakespeare's "Othello" I am impressed. Josh Hartnett would have deserved an Oscar nominee for Hugo's role, he did a very impressive job. As an actor, I believe he is very capable and talented. Mekhi Phifer is to me an unknown actor, but I think he was right casted in his role as Odin. On the other hand, Julia Stiles seemed to me just playing like she always does, she doesn't seem to be a very popular girl in that school, as it was supposed to be, she just seems to be this geeky lovesick girl with a basketball star boyfriend. Then it is Andrew Keegan and his decent acting, not to good, but not bad also.Not just the cast was good, but the crew also. "O" has a way of showing you that these are problems that even teenagers might have, like jealousy. But also it has a way of reminding that it's a movie based on a Shakespearian tragedy. In the end you have that feeling that only a Shakespeare work can bring... I give this movie a 10 with all my heart.