History Film / O

[[redirect:Film/O2001]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o_ver3_516.jpeg]]

''O'' is a 2001 adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[SettingUpdate set]] [[HighSchoolAU in high school]], directed by Creator/TimBlakeNelson.

Odin (Creator/MekhiPhifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove, where he is also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Creator/JoshHartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Creator/JuliaStiles) is carrying on an affair. It gets worse.
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!!''O'' offers examples of:

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc). Minor character Bianca gets a name change too (she becomes Brandy), even though the original wouldn't be unusual in a modern high school. Ironically, while Cassio is the one character who keeps the same full name since his first name was Michael anyway, he probably has the ''biggest'' difference between the name that's primarily used for him, as he's called Michael here whereas in the original he was referred to as [[LastNameBasis Cassio]].
* AdaptationalJerkass: Emilia's counterpart Emily is a lot less sympathetic, considering she still fulfills her original role in the plot (stealing the keepsake from Desdemona so Iago can use it to discredit her) but lacks many of the context that made her more palatable to audiences; she's not in an abusive marriage nor a servant, so she's not obligated to obey every order given to her. There are several intimate details Hugo uses to manipulate Odin about Desi and Michael that could only have come from Emily. [[spoiler: She does however come through and out Hugo once his role in the murder becomes clear to her]].
* AxesAtSchool: Not exactly, but close enough that it made people uncomfortable.
* BookEnds: Hugo's speech about hawks opens and closes the film.
* ButtMonkey: Roger is nothing more than Hugo's lackey.
* TheChessmaster: Hugo, as befits an update of Iago.
* CrazyJealousGuy: As befitting an adaptation of the UrExample.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Fairly close to the original Shakespeare play as Odin kills Desi, then himself. Hugo gets taken into police custody, but this is going to make him famous.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:O kills himself after murdering Desi and realizing he was set up by Hugo.]]
* DrugsAreBad: Hugo is addicted to steroids. Odin also goes off the deep end when he relapses into his cocaine addiction.
* DyingMomentOfAwesome:
** [[spoiler: Emily outs Hugo for his role in the plot, and repeatedly shouts "Hugo gave Michael the scarf" even when he threatens for her to be quiet. Sadly it gets her shot]].
** [[spoiler: Before he dies, Odin calls for the rest of his classmates to know that he loved Desi and everything that's happened is because of Hugo (Brandy can confirm that he killed Rodger and Michael, Jason can say that Hugo was seen coming out of the room holding a gun after the shot that killed Emily)]].
* ForTheEvulz: Downplayed from the original play in which Iago's motivations were far more ambiguous and shifted often. Here, Hugo's jealousy seems more genuine on account of his father paying more attention to Odin.
* FreudianExcuse: Hugo is made much more sympathetic (though still an obvious bad guy) in this adaptation thanks to his father's extreme preference for Odin over his own son.
* HighSchoolAU: To ''Othello'', which got the movie in trouble, thanks to Columbine.
* JerkJock: Michael often bullies Roger.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: The plan is for Hugo to kill Michael and Odin to kill Desi with the intention of making it look like a murder-suicide between them. [[spoiler:The plan goes awry when Hugo's friend Roger shoots Michael in the leg, making it obvious that someone else had shot him.]]
* MissingMom: Both Desi and Odin's mothers are absent from the story. Odin refers to his mother getting sick, implying her to be dead.
* OneWomanWail: Played over the "all my life I always wanted to fly" scene near the end. Courtesy of Music/GiuseppeVerdi.
* QuestionableConsent: Desi and Odin's first sexual encounter starts off normally, but when he hallucinates an image of Michael having sex with her in the mirror, out of rage and jealousy, he gets rougher, prompting her to cry out and beg him to stop. He doesn't.
* RaceLift: Possibly; in Shakespeare's day, 'Moor', the term used for Othello's race, could refer to several different races including Arabs and even darker-skinned Caucasians, so Othello's counterpart character being black isn't something that's absolutely supported by the original text. That being said, Othello being black isn't ruled ''out'' either, and the mainstream interpretation of the character as a black man predates this film by decades.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Emily finally owns up to stealing the scarf when it's too late to save Desi, but reveals everything Hugo has done. Then she gets shot]].
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: The Duke of Venice's counterpart here is now the Iago counterpart's father.
* ScaryBlackMan: Odin has this reputation at school and on the basketball court despite not being one. [[spoiler:He evolves into one thanks to Hugo's actions.]]
* ShoutOut: The Bard himself is referenced early on.
* SlutShaming: Michael invokes this DoubleStandard by making fun of Brandy, the girl he is sleeping with, behind her back, calling her a slut.
* ThirdActMisunderstanding: Hugo distorts a conversation that he and Michael have to "prove" to a hidden Odin that Michael and Desi are having sex. (As in the original ''Othello'', Michael is actually talking about Brandy.)
* WellDoneSonGuy: Hugo's father is this, often spending more time with Odin than his own son.
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* RaceLift: Possibly; in Shakespeare's day, 'Moor', the term used for Othello's race, could refer to several different races including Arabs and even darker-skinned Caucasians, so Othello's counterpart character being black isn't something that's absolutely supported by the original text. That being said, Othello being black isn't ruled ''out'' either, and in fact this interpretation had been almost universally accepted long before this film was made.

* RaceLift: 'Moor' in Shakespeare's day could refer to several different races from Arabs to tanned Caucasians, but modern pop culture imagines Othello as a black man. So here he's an African-American.

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc); the minor but significant character Bianca gets a name change too (she becomes Brandy), even though the original wouldn't be unusual in a modern high school. Ironically, while Cassio keeps the same full name since his first name was Michael anyway, he probably has the ''biggest'' difference between the name that's primarily used for him, as he's called Michael here whereas in the original he was referred to as [[LastNameBasis Cassio]].

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc). Cassio's first name was Michael in the original anyway, so he gets to keep his full name. Oddly enough the minor character Bianca gets a name change too, even though that one wouldn't be unusual in a modern high school (she becomes Brandy).

''O'' is a 2001 adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[SettingUpdate set]] [[HighSchoolAU in high school]]. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools It's better than it sounds]].

* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Odin and Desi are not married like Othello and Desdemona; they are high school kids dating. Yet when Odin is tricked into thinking Desi's sleeping around, it never seems to occur to him to just break up with her?

* PragmaticAdaptation: All things considered, it's a fairly faithful adaptation of the original play. It's a testament to Shakespeare how well it still holds up.

* OneWomanWail: Played over the "all my life I always wanted to fly" scene near the end.

Odin (Mekhi Phifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove, where he is also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Creator/JoshHartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Creator/JuliaStiles) is carrying on an affair. It gets worse.

* ThirdActMisunderstanding: Hugo distorts a conversation that he and Michael have to prove to a hidden Odin that Michael and Desi are having sex.

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc). Cassio's first name was Michael in the original anyway, so he gets to keep his full name.

* DrugsAreBad: Hugo is addicted to steroids.

''O'' is a 2001 adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[SettingUpdate set]] [[HighSchoolAU in high school]]. [[TropesAreNotBad It's better than it sounds]].

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc).

Odin (Creator/MekhiPhifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove, where he is also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Creator/JoshHartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Creator/JuliaStiles) is carrying on an affair. It gets worse.

Odin (Creator/MekhiPhifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove and also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Creator/JoshHartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Creator/JuliaStiles) is carrying on an affair. It gets worse.

!!O offers examples of:

* AdaptationNameChange: Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play. (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc.)
* AxesAtSchool: Not exactly but close enough that it made people uncomfortable.

* TheChessmaster: Hugo as befits an update of Iago.
* CrazyJealousGuy: As befitting an adaptation of the Ur-example.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Fairly close to the original Shakespeare play as Odin kills Desi then himself. Hugo gets taken into police custody but this is going to make him famous.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: kills himself after murdering Desi and realizing he was set up by Hugo.]]

* ForTheEvulz: Downplayed from the original play in which Iago's motivations were far more ambiguous and shifted often. Here Hugo's jealousy seems more genuine on account of his father paying more attention to Odin.

* HighSchoolAU: To ''Othello'', which got the movie in trouble thanks to Columbine.

* PragmaticAdaptation: All things considered it's a fairly faithful adaptation of the original play. It's a testament to Shakespeare how well it still holds up.
* QuestionableConsent: Desi and Oden's first sexual encounter starts off normally. But when he hallucinates an image of Michael having sex with her in the mirror, out of rage and jealousy, he gets rougher, prompting her to cry out and beg him to stop. He doesn't.
* ScaryBlackMan: Odin has this reputation at school and on the basketball court despite not being one. [[spoiler: He evolves into one thanks to Hugo's actions.]]

* SlutShaming: Michael invokes this DoubleStandard by making fun of Brandy the girl he is sleeping with behind her back calling her a slut.
* {{Third Act Misunderstanding}}: Hugo distorts a conversation that he and Michael have to prove to a hidden Odin that Michael and Desi are having sex.

* HighSchoolAU: To ''Othello'', which got the movie in trouble thanks to Columbine.

* {{Questionable Consent}}: Desi and Oden's first sexual encounter starts off normally. But when he hallucinates an image of Michael having sex with her in the mirror, out of rage and jealousy, he gets rougher, prompting her to cry out and beg him to stop. He doesn't.

* AdaptationNameChange - Done in such a way that the names are still recognizable if you're familiar with the original play. (Othello is Odin, Iago is Hugo, etc.)
* AxesAtSchool - Not exactly but close enough that it made people uncomfortable.
* BookEnds - Hugo's speech about hawks opens and closes the film.
* ButtMonkey - Roger.
* TheChessmaster - Hugo.
* DrivenToSuicide - Odin.
* DrugsAreBad - Hugo is addicted to steroids.
* ForTheEvulz - Downplayed from the original play in which Iago's motivations were far more ambiguous and shifted often. Here Hugo's jealousy seems more genuine on account of his father paying more attention to Odin.

* JerkJock - Michael often bullies Roger.
* HighSchoolAU - To ''Othello''.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident - The plan is for Hugo to kill Michael and Odin to kill Desi with the intention of making it look like a murder-suicide between them. [[spoiler:The plan goes awry when Hugo's friend Roger shoots Michael in the leg, making it obvious that someone else had shot him.]]
* PragmaticAdaptation - All things considered it's a fairly faithful adaptation of the original play. It's a testament to Shakespeare how well it still holds up.

* ShoutOut - The Bard himself is referenced early on.

* WellDoneSonGuy - Hugo's father is this, often spending more time with Odin than his own son.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o_ver3_516.jpeg]]

'''''O''''' is a 2001 adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[SettingUpdate set]] [[HighSchoolAU in high school]]. [[TropesAreNotBad It's better than it sounds]].

* SlutShaming: Michael invokes this {{DoubleStandard}} by making fun of Brandy the girl he is sleeping with behind her back calling her a slut.
* {{Third Act Misunderstanding}}: Hugo distorts a conversation that he and Michael have to prove to a hidden Oden that Michael and Desi are having sex.
* WellDoneSonGuy - Hugo's father is this, often spending more time with Odin than his own son.

'''''O''''' is an adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[SettingUpdate set]] [[HighSchoolAU in high school]]. [[TropesAreNotBad It's better than it sounds]].

Odin (Creator/MekhiPhifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove and also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Creator/JoshHartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Creator/JuliaStiles) is carrying an affair. It gets worse.

Odin (Mekhi Phifer) is the only black student at Palmetto Grove and also the star basketball player, with hopes of reaching the NBA. His best friend, Hugo (Josh Hartnett), is jealous of Odin's success and attempts to ruin him by making him believe that his girlfriend Desi (Julia Stiles) is carrying an affair. It gets worse.

* BillingDisplacement - [[Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay Mekhi Phifer]] is given less prominence in much of the promotional materials than Josh Hartnett and Julia Stiles; [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184791/ the poster]] has him tiny at the bottom while Hartnett and Stiles are two [[FloatingHeadSyndrome floating heads]] looming above him.
** Of course, it can be argued that Hugo is the main character, making it a more justifiable example of this trope.

'''''O''''' is an adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[HighSchoolAU set in high school]]. It's better than it sounds.

* {{Questionable Consent}}: Desi and Oden's first sexual encounter starts off normally. But when he hallucinates an image of Michael having sex with her in the mirror, out of rage and jealous, he gets rougher, prompting her to cry out and beg him to stop. He doesn't.