O

Sensitive and vivid response to the tangled issues of teen violence, race and self-esteem.

Artful and emotionally compelling.

The filmmakers have a vision of the way Shakespeare can be made vibrant and vital to modern viewers, with or without the lofty original dialogue.

Too much of a locker-room melodrama to make for great tragedy.

The film generally looks like a TV special, with low production values and lots of closeups.

The actors attack their roles with commitment (Hartnett’s understatement is impressive), but their fervor can’t hide the movie’s implausible, often confusing storytelling.

The makers of this malnourished teen drama haven't just dropped six letters from the title of Shakespeare's Othello, they have excised everything that gives the original its troubling power -- principally a point but also furious passion.

An interesting retelling, but somewhat luckluster since the actors weren't the best for their parts. Iago was the major offender here, since its character really couldn't be compared with the original's cunning and amorality. When you want to rewrite something as important as Othello you should at least consider the reactions of those who appreciated the original and would like to see something at least marginally similiar.