Iago (Kenneth Branagh), seeped in hatred for his commander, Othello (Laurence Fishburne), vows to destroy him and fellow officer Cassio (Nathaniel Parker). Othello has recently married the beautiful, young Desdemona (Irène Jacob), much to the regret of the foolish Roderigo (Michael Maloney), who wanted her for himself. Iago uses Roderigo in his plot to disgrace Cassio, and than persuade Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful.
A powerful and beautiful rendition of the most difficult of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Director Oliver Parker’s Othello hooks into the passion and sensuality of the original work (though not as some claim, the sexuality—there is little flesh on parade and the often commented on love scene is risqué only in the viewer’s mind).
Fishburne is an imposing presence, and I actually believed that Othello could command troops and win a battle. In most productions, Othello is portrayed as an ineffectual fool that could hardly hold an army together. But here, he seems both savage and reasonable—a complex man not completely at home in the society of Venice. He is also, for a change, black. It would seem to be an obvious bit of casting to put a black man in the title role of the Moor (who is specifically described as black) but more often than not, it is a white guy with bad makeup that gets the part.
While the title implies that Othello is the protagonist, it is Iago who motivates the action of the story. Branagh is far from a stranger to Shakespearian films (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost), but he tends to play heroes. Here he proves that he is even better as the villain. Branagh’s Iago is smoothly manipulative. This is a man who can tell any lie and still appear like an angel.
Irène Jacob is a less obvious choice for Desdemona since English is not the French-born, Swiss actress’s first language. She’s beautiful, but that should be a secondary consideration after the ability to pronounce the words. It’s distracting to have a character that has a different accent than her father. Luckily, Jacob has little screen time compared to Fishburne and Branagh.
With the exception of that one casting choice, Parker’s decisions are flawless for a faithful cinematic adaptation of the play. His sometimes substantial cuts (as few people want a three hour plus film) retain the poetry without any sacrifice to the story. The cinematography is the best I’ve seen in a straight Shakespearian movie, with colors that sparkle, giving extra life to the story. Costumes, settings, and the emotional score are all first rate. Parker’s done a wonderful job of translating the play to a new medium.
But his failing is that’s all he’s done. He may have filmed the best possible rendition of the standard interpretation of the play, but it is still the standard interpretation. Othello is an awkward work to stage. The story appears farcical, not unlike ones that Shakespeare used for his comedies. Iago can be compared to Don John from Much Ado About Nothing who is evil in a Snidely Whiplash kind of way. And not only Othello, but also Cassio, Roderigo, and Desdemona are stupid beyond the limits of believability. What did Shakespeare intend all this to mean? No one really knows (The Bard didn’t leave much in the way of production notes), so we’re left with directors trying to make sense of it. And Parker doesn’t. Why is Othello so easy to convince of Desdemona’s betrayal? Parker just smiles, and makes Othello jealous and Iago convincing. That’s hardly enough. Why can’t Desdemona see that constantly bringing up Cassio is upsetting her husband? Because she’s cute and innocent. Hmmmm. The questions continue without answers.
This Othello is technically wonderful, but Parker brings nothing new to the table. If you’re already familiar with the play, there’s no fresh insights to be found. There’s a lot to like, but not nearly enough to think about.
I have also reviewed Othello (1965) with Laurence Olivier and The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952) with Orson Welles.