![]() Caught in the middle is pure-hearted Dessi (Keeley Hawes), Jago's intermediary to Othello's destruction. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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'd be hard pressed to say whether this or the Orson Welles version is better, judge for yourself.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. But the sets are just fine and since it's a story about palace intrigue, the palace sets are more than appropriate. Unlike Olivier's other Shakespearean work, this is essentially a photographed stage play. And as Rodrigo who Iago plays like a piccolo is Robert Lang, both of whom are cast perfectly. In one of his earliest screen performances you'll find Derek Jacobi as the loyal, brave, but slightly dense Cassio. Frank Finlay as the subtle and clever Iago and Joyce Redman as his wife Emilia got nominations in the Supporting Actor categories. Nevertheless Othello earned for Laurence Olivier another nomination for Best Actor and for Maggie Smith as Desdemona, Best Actress. It's why I think Iago's character is central. He drops lies and suspicions to Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, and even his own wife Emilia, to another suitor for Desdemona named Rodrigo, in short to just about the rest of the cast. But in order to make this work, it's more than Othello he has to maneuver. All that sucking up gone for naught, Iago plans subtle revenge. Why's all this happening? Because Othello, a Moorish soldier of fortune in the pay of the Duke of Venice passes Iago over for a promotion and gives it to another favorite named Cassio. The proud Moor is destroyed by the 'green eyed monster' who when he gets a hold doesn't let go. Othello gets the title because the emphasis is on his reactions to Iago's hints of infidelity in regard to Othello's new wife Desdemona. In fact William Shakespeare probably should have entitled the play Iago instead. Iago is the guy whose subtle machinations keep the whole thing going. I've always felt Othello to be more Iago's play than Othello's.
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