plot : odin is a great high school basketball player .
he 's dating a hot girl and the coach loves his ass .
in fact , the coach even admits to having fatherly feelings towards him .
unfortunately , the coach 's real son , hugo , is n't too pleased to hear that .
in fact , he does n't like hearing about any of odin 's triumphs , as they generally supersede his own .
so what does he set out to do ?
well , let 's just say that he starts to mess with people 's heads and one thing leads to another thing which leads to .
. .
well , you 'll see .
critique : a very powerful , thoroughly depressing , well - acted " non - teen " movie starring a bunch of teens .
credit director tim blake nelson for creating a modern day version of this shakespearian classic , set in a realistic high school environment , with the basketball championships as the backdrop and an impending sense of doom as it core .
you also have to give it up to all of the actors in this film , who turn over some very convincing performances , taking you through all of their characters ' ups and downs .
hartnett especially should be applauded for taking on such a despicable character , a dude who you just want to grab by the throat and beat the shit out of ( sign of a good actor , if you ask me ) .
phifer also comes to play in this movie , with a nice blend of charisma , fear , love and anger spread over his character .
i was always on this guy 's side and definitely felt sorry for him as things moved along .
julia stiles was also good , but her character was n't much different from others that she 's played recently .
i was however very surprised with martin sheen 's showing , since i had n't taken him too seriously as an actor over the past few years .
his character is definitely over - the - top in this film , but i appreciated his fervor , his rage , his ultimate and blind desire to win above all .
a great example of a workaholic man who can not see the trees from the forest .
i did have a few reservations about the movie though .
first of all , what was with all of the gangsta hip - hop music used in pretty much every other scene transition ?
it was cute at first , but became a little too obvious and annoying after a few times .
the film was also edited pretty choppily . . .
like some scenes were cut out and no one " cleaned it up " afterwards .
i also did n't like the fact that hartnett 's character , the man behind much of the nastiness that goes down in this film , was infallible .
in other words , pretty much everything he says or asks of someone , happens automatically and without any goofups .
i mean , i know the guy is smart and all , but i would have appreciated a little more " realism " under some of the circumstances .
but overall , the movie will devastate you .
it 's not a " fun date movie " .
it 's not a movie about the high school basketball team and how its black star falls for the white girl from the other side of the tracks .
it 's about jealousy , love , envy , fury , passion , revenge and pretty much any other negative thought that 's ever passed through your head .
is it worth seeing ?
oh , most definitely !
( pun intended ) it 's a moving picture with great performances , no shakespearian speak ( thank you , god ! ) and an outstanding directorial job by nelson .
the final scene alone is enough to send a massive chill down your spine , and i was especially impressed with the director 's choice of music near the end .
in fact , the whole sequence was quite reminiscent of the final showdown scene from taxi driver , and i guess that 's saying something right there .
where 's joblo coming from ?
10 things i hate about you ( 7/10 )
- election ( 7/10 ) - hamlet ( 6/10 ) - love 's labor 's lost ( 8/10 ) - natural born killers ( 9/10 ) - save the last dance ( 7/10 ) - shakespeare in love ( 5/10 )
a very powerful , thoroughly depressing , well - acted was also good is it worth seeing ? oh , most definitely ! i was especially impressed an outstanding directorial job a moving picture with great performances comes to play in this movie , with a nice blend give it up to all of the actors in this film , who turn over some very convincing performances , taking you through all of their characters ' ups and downs