The film Othello, directed by Oliver Parker, is an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy that explores the insecurities of a man who is manipulated by someone he trusts, Honest Ago, leading to his downfall. This essay examines how the timeless play is portrayed in the medium of film, specifically evaluating the director’s skill in creating an impactful experience through understanding the play’s intricate workings and visually interpreting them. The analysis primarily focuses on the techniques and devices employed to achieve this and their resulting impact.
The choice of actors and actresses in Parker’s Othello must first be questioned. Aware of Othello’s vacant and unreflective nature, Parker filled that void with sex and violence, which are portrayed through Lawrence Bushfire’s visually stunning performance. The intention was to make the erotic relationship between Othello and Desman the emotional core of the play, which was accomplished successfully by the American actor. Bushfire’s physicality and awkward delivery of lines epitomize the alien “other” inherent in the racist nature of the play. The casting for all other roles is equally innovative, such as Desman being portrayed as sensuous and dark-haired instead of the traditional innocent blonde. The role is played by Irene Jacob, an actress who speaks English with a heavy accent. However, her portrayal conveys a strong sense of erotic chemistry that can lead to a sudden elopement, despite Shakespeare’s Othello saying “she loved me for the pains I have suffered.”
With this in mind, the audience can already perceive the contrasting value of the play, which is further reflected and enhanced in the film adaptation. The movie opens with Othello putting on a black and white mask (which is fitting for a play centered around identity – how we see ourselves and others). This image also carries symbolism related to the two-faced god Janus, who is associated with Iago. The symbolism effectively illustrates the tragic nature of this story, as it is the two-faced nature that leads to this downfall.
In the opening act of the play itself, Ago demonstrates allegiance to the two-faced god, primarily to establish Ago’s own trustworthiness. However, there is another way that Ago shows loyalty to Janis, which is especially evident in the film. This similarity is Ago’s role as the guardian of doorways and thresholds – a concept emphasized by Parker’s focus on entrances, moments of hesitation at doorsteps, and lurking by windows, all to create a thrilling effect in the film. It is crucial to note that Ago is frequently positioned on a threshold, between indoors and outdoors, often guiding the characters as they enter and exit.
The film opens with Ago and Ordering, two men who are lurking beside a door. They seem to be spying on Desman, who is rushing to some secret location to marry Othello in the middle of the night. This same scenario can be seen in Act III, scene 3, when Othello wakes up suddenly from a dream of Desman and Cassia being intimate. He collapses on his bed and then leaves the palace for the beach. Surprisingly, Ago quietly appears behind Othello, as if he had been hiding there. He watches Othello for a moment before joining him on the beach.
According to belief, Janis is considered the patron of beginnings and endings, often standing at the entrances and doors of houses. Similarly, Ago is given the role of opening and closing most scenes, which the director utilizes by having him linger behind characters after leaving a location. This adds a diabolical and supernatural effect, as Ago seems to appear out of a dark abyss behind or next to characters. The significance of the soot in the play is also emphasized by the director, especially after the villain has devised his plot.
The cunning Ago takes hold of a scorching mark and covers his hands with dirt. Subsequently, he presses his stained hand against the lens of the camera, causing a blackout. Uttering, “Her virtue will I transform into darkness, and from her inherent goodness, I will create a trap that shall entangle us all.” Thus, Ago emerges as the supreme ruler over observation, concealing and revealing as he pleases. In doing so, he exercises command over both the bodily and psychological actions of the characters, as well as the audience whose sight he can either assist or obstruct at will.
The spreading of soot over the camera’s “eye” symbolizes the characters’ extreme blindness. It also signifies the increasing dominance of night in the play, as more night scenes take place in Cyprus. This darkness overshadows all the characters, including Desdemona, who becomes dirty and tainted, as Othello describes her. Additionally, this emphasizes Iago’s role as a film director and as a god-like figure who transcends the boundaries of the dramatic world.
The director effectively captures and portrays Ago’s scheming mastery through the use of visual devices and symbolic imagery. Camera focus, particularly the technique of rack focus, is important in conveying the omitted scenes from the play. This technique blurs one character’s face while keeping another character’s face in focus, creating a dramatic and symbolic effect. In the night after the fight scene, Cassia’s face is highlighted while Ago’s words become muffled and Othello’s view becomes unclear, further emphasizing Ago’s godlike persona and his pervasive effect. Parker illuminates the faces of these victims to make us concentrate on the impact of Ago’s words. Additionally, Ago progressively comes into focus while the foreground character fades out, creating a backward-forward inversion. This inversion is seen on multiple occasions and adds to the traumatic atmosphere.
In Act II, scene 3, the camera blurs out Othello while Ago reports how the fight started. Later in the same scene, Ago comes into focus in the far background between Cassia and Othello to indicate to Cassia that he has tried his best to calm Othello’s anger. In the vaulted armory, Ago, who is initially sitting in the background, begins insinuating things to Othello, whose face is hidden by swords displayed on racks.
At first, Ago is out of focus and not seen clearly, but his initial suspicions of Adhesion’s apparent infidelity are ignored by Othello. However, these suspicions manage to seep into Ago’s mind. As Ago comes back into focus and walks over to Othello, who has moved away from him after the first disclosure, it can be assumed that Ago’s poisoned words have already influenced Othello’s thoughts. The same technique will be used again later in the play when Othello is reading a letter brought from Venice by Ladylove, emphasizing the dual focus of the scene.
The text shows how the focus shifts between Othello reading a letter and Desman talking to Ladylove about Cassia. This creates tension and eventually leads to a slap. This technique of indirect and distorted gaze is also used by Parker. In Cyprus, Ago secretly observes the exchange between Desman and Cassia, with the reflection on his knife blade. He murmurs, “Very good, ay, well said, whisper: in as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassia.” The reflection on the blade is blurry and distorted, indicating Ago’s uncertainty about the authenticity of his actions. However, he uses it to justify the violence he plans to carry out. Again, this emphasizes Ago’s resemblance to the two-faced god, as he sees both ahead and behind him. Othello’s obsession with images of Desman and Cassia having sex is a significant indicator of his insanity.
These images are combined by Parker to create a flashing sequence forming one of Othello nightmares. In the scene where Othello and Desman consummate their marriage, we see Othello’s black hand grasp Desman’s white one. However, during Othello disturbed visions, the camera instead shows us Cassia’s white hand over Adhesion’s. These images deeply torment Othello due to his intense love for Desman and insecurities about his age and race, which make him feel unworthy. His possessiveness of Desman is a major contributor to his overwhelming jealousy, which is mainly sexual. He sees Desman’s beauty as the cause of his love for her and believes that it has also tempted Cassia, leading to his descent into madness. In conclusion, Fishbone and Jacob may not have been the ideal candidates for the portrayal of Othello and Desman respectively due to their lack of something. However, they have still performed well in their roles for the purpose they were given – embodying an erotic screen presence as Parker intended to reinterpret the play as a sexual thriller. The acting genius of Kenneth Branch as Ago has also saved the production from being a disaster.
Irene Jacobs’s alluring character, Desman, in Fishbone, is a sensual counterpart to Othello on the screen. Othello doesn’t have to be driven to madness to imagine Desman engaging in a romantic encounter with another man. This is especially true after Parker adds a scene where Othello witnesses Desman dancing with Cassia, with a hint of pleasure in her eyes. All of these elements contribute to making Othello’s jealousy more believable. Symbolically, the director represents this passion through Desman’s fiery dance, as she first offers it to Othello and then passes it on to Cassia, implying a predisposition towards infidelity.
Throughout the screenplay, Parker uses manipulative exchanges between Ordering, Cassia, and Othello to shape Ago’s character, sometimes causing him to take on a seductive and feminine persona. He entices them with smooth words and promises. This is particularly evident in the scene after Othello arrives in Cyprus, where the festivities over the Turkish fleet’s destruction turn into a wild and drunken party. Above them, a cart rocks revealing a couple engaged in sexual intercourse, while below, Ago gleefully embraces Ordering and slyly encourages him to continue with his deceitful plans.
Shakespeare implies the apparent nature of dominance-submission, sadism-masochism through the body language between Fishbone and Branch. This suggests that the power behind Ago’s evil actions, which is possibly linked to homosexual attraction, is also embodied in Parker.
