53
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickExceptionally intelligent and powerful contemporary adaptation.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanTo an astonishing degree, O gets the tragic Shakespeare mood, that somber stentorian passion born of hidden slivers of ambition and betrayal.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranEssential to the success it manages is Hartnett's low-key, charismatic performance -- cool, withholding, compelling. The triumph of his insinuating Hugo/Iago is how plausible he is, how he manages to convincingly inject poison in so many minds without seeming to be trying.
- 63Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezWhat O lacks is a sense of spontaneity: Despite its contemporary dialogue and manner, the movie can't overcome a nagging aura of artifice.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaStripped of its poetry, some of the devices of the tragedy of the Moor come off here as woefully contrived.
- 40Village VoiceAmy TaubinVillage VoiceAmy TaubinHad Nelson and Kaaya been less concerned with following Othello to the letter and rather had pursued this love affair into uncharted cinematic waters, O might have been more than an unresolved mixture of gimmickry and good intentions.
- 40NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenThe actors attack their roles with commitment (Hartnett’s understatement is impressive), but their fervor can’t hide the movie’s implausible, often confusing storytelling.
- 30SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorThe film is a plodding, earnest adaptation that strips the source of its richness and ambiguity.
- 30New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerIt's a doomy dirge of a movie, in which the protagonists, or at least the actors who play them, aren't equipped to handle their outsize passions.