OLIVER PARKER
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.5.
USA/United Kingdom, 1995. Castle Rock Entertainment, Dakota Films, Imminent Film Productions. Screenplay by Oliver Parker, based on the play by William Shakespeare. Cinematography by David Johnson. Produced by David Barron, Luc Roeg. Music by Charlie Mole. Production Design by Tim Harvey. Costume Design by Caroline Harris. Film Editing by Tony Lawson.
Director Oliver Parker faithfully adapts much of Shakespeare’s original dialogue in this adaptation of the Bard’s play about the titular Moor, but his staging and direction is uneven and dull. Laurence Fishburne (the first actor to portray the role in a film version without a painted face) is excellent in the lead role, a man who is undone by his trust towards his closest friend Iago (Kenneth Branagh). Iago decides in a fit of jealousy to turn Othello against his own wife Desdemona (Irène Jacob), convincing him that the faithful wife is actually a deceitful adulteress. Tragedy of course ensues, though it’s not nearly as juicy or enjoyable as it should be.
