By Amy Robinson
Story
Hugo Goulding (
Josh Hartnett) hates Odin James (
Mekhi Phifer) for being the
star of their elite Southern prep school's basketball team. Even Hugo's
father (
Martin Sheen), the team's coach, seems to favor Odin the most. Hugo
jealously plots against Odin, hoping to destroy what he loves most:
his relationship with the dean's beautiful daughter, Desi (
Julia Stiles).
Through the manipulation and exploitation of their weaknesses, Hugo incorporates his
roommate Roger (
Elden Henson), his girlfriend Emily (
Rain Phoenix), and
Odin's best friend Michael Cassio (
Andrew Keegan) into his plot. However, as
the championship basketball game approaches and the pressure mounts, Hugo's devious plan spins out
of control and comes to a head in a single disastrous night.
Acting
Though the title character is Odin, the protagonist here is the vile Hugo,
whom Hartnett plays superbly. His face has a certain mystique that is
captivating, and he manages to arouse sympathy even as he's plunging the
knife deeper into his friends' backs. Stiles, a Shakespeare veteran, oozes
that all-American goodness. She's perfect for the passionate but naïve Desi, while
Phifer exhausts his range of emotions as Hugo's pawn. Though he's not one of
the major players, Sheen is intense as the win-hungry coach, proving once
again why he's enjoyed such a long and prosperous career.
Direction
Demonstrating that he's just as adept behind the camera as he is in front of
it,
Tim Blake Nelson successfully blends the basic ideas and themes of
Shakespeare's classic work with such hot-button issues of today as school
violence, interracial dating and teenage drug use. Yet he manages not to
come across as moralistic or preachy to his young audience. Instead, aided
by Brad Kaaya's well-adapted script, he combines all these elements into a
mature and tasteful teen film. Also, thanks to Nelson's visually intense and chilling
climax, the audience will have plenty to think about once they leave the
theater.