O, Brother, When Art Thou?
Tim Blake Nelson's new Othello seems to be a man out of time
Hartnett's Hugo does get the best sorta-Shakespearean dialogue, adapting "Demand me nothing: what you know, you know: From this time forth I never will speak word" to "You don't ask me nothin'; I did what I did and that's all you need to know." Phifer is less lucky, stranded with lines like "They don't know who they fuckin' wit'" and "I can say 'nigger' cuz I am a nigger. You can't cuz you ain't." Glad we cleared that one up.
All the acting is strong, however -- the film's biggest strength. Hartnett and Phifer can shine in virtually anything (see the former in Pearl Harbor and the latter in Uninvited Guest), but it takes talent to wrench a good performance from Julia Stiles, and Nelson does it, finally freeing her from the facial paralysis that seemed to set in shortly after 10 Things I Hate About You and continued through Down to You, Save the Last Dance, State and Main, et al. She's still a little inhibited with the love scenes (if sexiness is what you seek, go rent the Irene Jacob and Laurence Fishburne Othello instead), but give her time.
Details
Related Content
More About
It's too bad the rest of the directing doesn't measure up. Nelson has a weird fascination with shooting scenes through open doors, a device that might seem clever once but swiftly becomes tiresome. The film generally looks like a TV special, with low production values and lots of close-ups (perhaps they blew too much of the budget on those damn doves). And while cutesy references to the source material may work in comedic updates like 10 Things I Hate About You, this would-be tragedy could do without an opera score from Verdi's Otello and a classroom scene in which Hugo, asked to name one of Shakespeare's poems, responds, "I thought he wrote movies." If you're a teen who's never heard the story of Othello before, O might be something you should see. If not, you already know better.
Now Showing
Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.
Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!
Now Trending
Movie Trailers
-
Voice Places
Find everything you're looking for in your city
-
Happy Hour App
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
-
Daily Deals
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
-
Best Of...
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
- Profile
- Newsletters
- Mobile
- Logout
-
Publishing:
ONOFF
