Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 03/12/2002
Sound: 5.1/2
Run Time: 96 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: Acorn Media
This British TV production of
Othello is more than a mere updating of the classic
William Shakespeare tragedy; with freshly rechristened characters and brand-new dialogue, the film qualifies as a "rethinking" of the 17th century
Shakespearean play, albeit still retaining the original's power and potency. The story is set in the London of the near future, a crime-ridden metropolis virtually torn apart by racial hostilities. By order of the Prime Minister, black police officer
John Othello (
Eamonn Walker) is promoted to Commissioner, a post dearly coveted by
Othello's friend, mentor and fellow officer
Ben Jago (
Christopher Eccleston). Seething with jealousy,
Jago contrives to discredit
Othello in the eyes of the public, and to destroy
John's interracial marriage to the lily-white
Dessie (
Keeley Hawes). Among those used as unwitting dupes to gain
Jago's ends are
Othello's trusted lieutenant,
Michael Cass (
Richard Coyle), scrupulously honest police constable
Alan Roderick (
Del Synnott), and
Jago's own wife,
Lulu (
Rachael Stirling). Typical of the film's modernizations is the handling of the evidence "proving"
Dessie's infidelity. In place of the incriminating handkerchief in the
Shakespearean original, a robe is offered which has been tampered with by
Jago so that the DNA lab will find evidence that
Dessie has not only cuckolded
Othello, but also is part of a greater plan to ruin his reputation. A co-production of
London Weekend Television, Canada's
CBC, and America's
PBS,
Othello was first shown in the U.S. as part of the last-named network's
Masterpiece Theatre anthology on January 29, 2002.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide