Ah...woe is them who love too well!
This is the beauty of great works of art in any of its forms; humanity does not change. Throughout time, we still and always will appreciate the things that stir our emotions: love, honour, betrayal, courage, sorrow, death.
Are you familiar with Shakespeare’s gripping tale of “Othello”? If so, here is your opportunity to become re-acquainted with this masterpiece while enjoying exceptional acting, adept cinematography and the absorbing tragic tale true to its origin. If you are unfamiliar with the tale, prepare yourself for many mind-blowing twists and turns at the hands and lips of the master evil conniver, Iago.
The Plot...Very Simplified:
Othello, a respected Army General, secretly marries Desdemona, much to the envy of his friend, Iago. Iago, motivated by jealousy and complete lack of compassion toward others, has “hatred & jealousy” to motivate his every move...and evil-doings at the mercy of a brilliant manipulator and ruthless rogue means tremendous trouble and sorrow for all. But I get ahead of myself. To begin, Iago awakens Desdemona’s Father with the news of the clandestine joining: “A dark ram is topping your white ewe....”Ah! Shakespeare!
Desdemona is a lovely and gentle young woman with more than her share of admirers ~ not only Othello, whom she dearly loves, but Iago, who covets her. Others prove to be the tools that Iago manipulates to bring an end to the newlywed’s happiness. With ploys too intricate and devious for most minds to conceive, and certainly too involved for me to detail here, Iago begins his clever and destructive scheme to undermine the couple's union. As Iago says, “There are many events in the womb of time...which will be delivered”.
Iago manipulates people and events to cast suspicion on Desdemona and make it appear as though she may be having an affair. He uses her own loving spirit and good nature against her:
”I shall turn her goodness into pitch and out of her own goodness make the net that shall unmesh them all”, confesses Iago to the viewing audience!
By inference and the planting of false evidence, Iago successfully raises suspicion of a love triangle to Othello. Othello is successfully becoming undone by seeds of suspicion.
The plot thickens. And it weaves and bobs and twists and turns and takes us on a delicious yet unsettling serpentine chase through treachery and trickery. This is Shakespeare, after all - a master storyteller! But ....what about the production? Is a modern filming of Shakespeare for everyone’s taste? Clearly, no.
The Language
True to the Bard’s original, “Othello’s” dialogue comes from the pages of Shakespeare’s work. And it is difficult... at first. The heightened speech of the day is not we are accustom to: there are no short cuts taken – characters express themselves at great length and with great eloquence and wit. And one cannot deny the beauty of the language – delicate even when being bold; polite, even when being brusque.
