Othello

I'm not much of a Masterpiece Theatre watcher, but I luckily stumbled on this fantastic version of Othello. Davies brilliant distillation of Shakespeare's plot, combined with great actors, and very effective direction give one faith in adaptations without the original text.

It's easily superior to the recent 'O' as well as the Fishburne/Branagh 1995 version of the play.

Living proof that Shakespeare's plays are truly timeless. People don't change. Great production! The authentic Shakespearean tragedy came through loud and clear. This was the first time we saw Eamonn Walker but it definitely won't be the last.

From the writer who brought us the devilish Francis Urquhart in the HOUSE OF CARDS series comes this wonderful modern retelling of the Shakespeare play. After John Othello (Eamonn Walker) is given the job of superintendent in the wake of a racial police scandal, Ben Jago (Christopher Eccleston) schemes to ruin his one-time friend. Christopher is perfectly lean and hungry as Jago. Eamonn Walker plays the role so soft-spokenly, it becomes even more nerve-wracking as he's driven mad by jealousy. Originally aired in the US on MASTERPIECE THEATER, and beautifully shot for a TV production. (8/10)

My road to appreciating William Shakespeare was indeed a long and strange one--I spent my high-school years loathing this author, who seemed to specialize in stilted, pretentious language for the sole purpose of pissing off contemporary students. Years pass, and my final 2 semesters in college require me to become re-acquainted with an author I never wanted to have to read again. I could almost hear the centuries-dead Bard rattling his jaw with laughter from beyond the grave, chuckling to himself: "I'll teach you to acknowledge my genius yet, just wait!" And a funny thing happened: I actually started to appreciate Bill S. at the end of the first course, and flat-out praised him at the end of the second (which wrapped up with "Othello," now my hands-down favorite Shakespeare play); I graduated with a new-found appreciation for an author I had ignorantly written off years before.

As I have only seen one filmed adaptation of "Othello" (Tim Blake Nelson's well-done teen drama "O"), I picked this version up with great curiosity, wondering what direction it would take. Set in present-day London amid growing racial tensions, John Othello (Eamonn Walker) is a straight-arrow cop whose honesty and courage earns him a promotion to Police Commissioner; his best friend and confidant, Ben Jago (a wonderfully over-the-top Christopher Eccleston), is poisoned with jealousy at this, thinking it is a racially/politically motivated move at a position that is rightfully his. Caught in the middle is pure-hearted Dessi (Keeley Hawes), Jago's intermediary to Othello's destruction.

This "Othello" is a gritty, hard-hitting, and compelling production; the contemporary elements are integrated with ease (cell phones, DNA testing, Internet sites, handguns, etc.), the dialog has been substantially modified for modern ears, yet retains the tragic poetry of Shakespeare's text, and the triangle of key performers is of skilled equality. Eamonn Walker is a toweringly confident Othello, with a winning smile and perceptive eyes that portend everything from rapt euphoria to poisonous jealousy to homicidal rage; Eccleston has a field day with Jago, the bitter, bigoted cop once bound by devotion to his friend, now bound by the devotion to tear him to shreds; Hawes has a smaller but no less substantial role, and comes across as a confident, strong, intelligent woman who knows herself, and is not merely a pawn.

While the entire production is gripping, there are several scenes in particular that stand out: Othello's fearless address to a gang of citizens rioting outside the police station over the beating death of a black man goes from palpable tension to calm seamlessly; Jago's raging 'aside' upon learning of Othello's promotion--his bigoted, blustery rant as he stalks down the corridors of New Scotland Yard swings between sarcasm and seriousness, aided by Eccleston's ability to keep the character grounded in reality; and the scene where Othello, stricken with a full-blown paranoia over his wife's (seeming) misdeeds, tears through their apartment looking for incriminating evidence, filmed in a dizzying style that recalls Roman Polanski's "The Tenant." As a meditation on the frailty of love and the perils of trust, Shakespeare's "Othello" taps into emotions and manipulations that still exist in society; this film faithfully recreates those sentiments through impassioned performances and inspired direction (by Geoffrey Sax). Don't let the words "Masterpiece Theatre" deter you from seeing "Othello"--it really IS that good.

(Note: "Othello" is not rated, but would merit an "R" for violence, sexuality/nudity, and some harsh profanity.)

Modernizing Shakespeare is a tough business. People who hate the Bard's archaic language and subject matter are unlikely to be lured into watching one of his plays, even if the dialog has been brought up-to-date. And Shakespeare purists usually resent seeing his beautiful poetry translated into contemporary blather. I belong to the latter camp, so sadly, I was annoyed that this version of "Othello" not only modernizes the setting, but also the language, of Shakespeare's classic play. My (perhaps elitist) attitude is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

That said, there is much to recommend here. Staging the drama during Rodney King-like race riots was an inspired idea. It's also good to see Othello and Iago (here called Jago) interact as friends before Othello is promoted; we get proof of their friendship and mutual trust before things turn sour. Sadly, two nice touches do not a great adaptation make; the other changes are not so effective.

"Othello" may be particularly tough to modernize because the hero is so fatally flawed, and in ways which make modern viewers uncomfortable. He's suspicious, jealous, easily duped, and very possessive of his wife. The last of these qualities seems particularly reactionary today. Of course, there are still controlling and abusive men around - lots of them - but such behavior is becoming more and more unacceptable. Othello is, by today's standards, a sexist. And he's a sexist who's constantly tricked by a much cleverer man! So I have some problems admiring Othello; he's less of a tragic hero than an utter mess. Somehow, his flaws seem less overwhelming in Venice of the past than in London of today. I wish screen writer Andrew Davies had done something to make him less passive and ingenuous.

Despite these problems, Walker gives a forceful performance as Othello. His charisma carries the day when the script fails to give him anything interesting or proactive to do. Eccleston runs wild as Iago/Jago, really relishing his rants and asides; I enjoyed watching him. Hawes is slightly dull as Desdemona (you may find yourself wondering "what's all the fuss about?"), and I couldn't believe that Cassio is played by Jeff from "Coupling!" Normally, I like to see sitcom actors in serious roles, but I just couldn't stop associating him with his silly "Coupling" character, so ultimately his presence was distracting.

Geoffrey Sax's always-stylish direction held my interest, but was not quite up to his usual standard. Like the other aspects of the production, he came up just a little short this time. Despite the wealth of talent on display here, the end result is a so-so adaptation of a problematic masterpiece.