Othello

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.

I am a great Shakespeare aficionado, and I am usually very skeptical about versions that don't use the original text. Yes, adaptation is a valid genre in itself, but a modern-language adaptation is usually only meaningful because it refers back to the original work that we acknowledge the immense value of. People (film-makers and audience alike) must understand that, if you leave behind Shakespeare's language, you invariably leave behind 90% of the art and subtext. You leave behind almost everything that makes the audience think, retaining only the part that is easily digestible as immediate entertainment. In most cases, this is acceptable only to those who do not distinguish significantly between high art and immediate entertainment.

Then there are the exceptions, like this absolutely excellent modern version of Othello. It is very professionally produced in every way; the language, though mostly modern, is just that little bit prettier than everyday language, containing some nice similes and alliterations here and there, as if inclining ever so slightly towards Shakespearean language. Very nice! The plot has been significantly altered, and with it is also altered a good deal of the original statements of the play, but it is done respectfully, as if understanding that it is impossible to retain all the philosophical substance of the original. And the alterations supply their own new patterns to make the internal logic of this production a wholesome and consistent thing. Beautiful! The actors don't miss a beat. Their performances are flawless.

As an ardent Shakespeare reader, I must confess that Othello is one of the plays that can sometimes become a bit boring to me. As a person, I am not really that interested in stories that use jealousy as the central plot point, because, frankly, I find it rather unexciting and, for me at least, irrelevant. The original Othello is of course a play pregnant with a myriad thoughts and ideas, justifying repeated rereadings, whereas a modern version will tend to strip away all the circumstantial pondering and leave us with a bare-bones jealousy plot. This can get simplistic and is why adapters as a general rule should be wary of over-simplification, as it tends to get *so* simple that the Shakespeareness of it is entirely lost. And then what was the point of the exercise? However, this particular production has enough connections to the Bardic original, and enough topical connections to the current-day world, that it is more than a jealousy story. It is also a character study, a challenging exercise in plot structure, and a study in near-Shakespearean method acting, and it manages to effectively hold the attention and maintain a level of meaningful entertainment throughout. This is a DVD well worth its price.

9 out of 10. An impressive production.

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.

If you thought this superb adaptation of the classic, and in particular Christopher Eccleston's "Jago", had about it a certain something reminiscent of Ian Richardson's "Francis Urquhart" in "House of Cards", then it might be because this comes from the pen of Andrew Davies, and he's really on form here.

When John Othello is promoted to Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police over the head of his friend and mentor Ben Jago, Ben is not amused, and with the unwitting help of Superintendant Cass, Jago sets about installing the skids...

This is like a bottle of good vintage port - take time to savour every drop.

It's been a long while since I've seen this, but bristling at the poor reviews I am moved to make a couple of remarks.

One is that upon seeing it on public TV, I immediately purchased it and showed it to all my friends and family, who were similarly impressed. Both Othello and Iago are wonderfully inhabited by their actors.

Two is that Davies elevates his diction and provides rhythm in his "modernizing" to the extent that I remember being moved to write embittered love poetry after watching it. (I know that the world doesn't need more embittered love poetry, but it is pretty cool that his language put me in that place.)

I like my Shakespeare adaptations to be coherent and this setting is pertinent and coherent. All in all, an excellent experience.