O Movie Review 2001

Apparently Hollywood has discovered that this Shakespeare fella can do some writin'. An exclusive South Carolina high school serves as background for this updated teen "Othello," which substitutes basketball for battle. Odin (Phifer) is the sole black student at Palmetto Grove Academy due to his hoops prowess. He has an intimate relationship with Desi (Stiles, in her third Bard adaptation in as many years), the daughter of the school's dean. Hugo (Hartnett), the envious son of the basketball coach (Sheen), plots Odin's disgrace and destruction by poisoning his mind against Desi. Although blasted by some critics as full of skimpy plot devices, there's not much that's not taken straight from the source material. Filmed in 1999, it was pulled by skittish studio bigwigs following the Columbine shootings and not released until 2001.

Distribution

CinemaNow, 4553 Glencoe Ave., Ste. 200, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, URL: http://www.cinemanow.com, Remarks: Formerly known as Lions Gate Home Entertainment

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 94 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Modern Shakespeare, Sports Dramas, Basketball, Prep School, Tragedy, Teen Romance, High School

Screenplay

Brad Kaaya

Cast

Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Elden (Ratliff) Henson, Andrew Keegan, Rain Phoenix, John Heard, A.J. (Anthony) Johnson, Martin Sheen

Cinematography

Russell Fine

Director

Tim Blake Nelson

Music

Jeff Danna

Other

Robert Maxfield, Barry Cole, Kate Sanford, Jack Ballance, Jill Ohanneson, Dina Goldman

Producer

Eric Gitter, Daniel Fried, Anthony Rhulen, Chickie the Cop, Lions Gate Films