Director
Tim Blake Nelson
Leading Actors/Actresses
Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Martin Sheen, Elden Henson
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
N/A
Date of Release
2001
Producer
Daniel Fried, Eric Gitter
Setting and Context
A South Carolina Private School - 1999
Narrator and Point of View
The film suggests that Hugo is the narrator, as he speaks through voiceover in the opening scene about how he has always desired to "soar" above others. This monologue frames the rest of the plot.
Tone and Mood
serious, grave, dramatic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is O, and the antagonist is Hugo.
Major Conflict
Hugo, jealous of his teammate, sets in motion a plan to destroy O's basketball career, relationship, and future.
Climax
O believes that Desi is cheating on him with Michael and agrees to strangle her while Hugo kills Roger, who fumbles in killing Michael. Only after Desi has died does O realize he has been set up by Hugo.
Foreshadowing
The image of O sprawled out against the red paint of the basketball court foreshadows the impending bloodshed at the end of the film.
Understatement
Hugo tells O that sometimes he "sees things that aren't really there." This is Hugo's understated way of implying to O that Desi is cheating on him. However, Hugo uses vagueness and subtlety to make himself seem more innocent than he is.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
In many ways, the film itself is an innovation of Shakespeare's original play. Nelson adapted Shakespeare's Othello for a modern audience, switching the sixteenth-century Venetian setting to a South Carolina American high school. The soundtrack is also modern, featuring contemporary rap and hip-hop music. Nelson also modernized the names of the characters, switching Othello to simply Odin or simply "O," Iago to Hugo, Desdemona to Desi, and so on.
Allusions
The film alludes to its source material in a moment of comedic relief, when an English teacher asks Hugo if he can name any of Shakespeare's poems. Hugo responds that he thought Shakespeare "only wrote movies," an ironic and meta-cinematic reference to the original play.
Paradox
The central paradox of the play is that Hugo is able to catalyze so much destruction in the play by simply speaking to other characters and operating from a distance. This paradox emphasizes O's own inherent conflicts with jealousy, masculinity, and identity.
Parallelism
The intermittent scenes of doves and hawks parallel the drama occurring among the characters, as Hugo (the hawkish villain) disrupts the peace and tranquility shared by O and Desi.
