EXXON MOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE: OTHELLO (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas presented under the umbrella of "Masterpiece Theatre." This dramatic film is a modern adaptation of the Shakespeare play of the same name. This film updates “Othello” to a modern London setting as police captain John Othello is called away from a policeman’s ball to handle a violent riot in his old neighborhood in response to several officers beating an innocent man to death, believing he was guilty of drug possession. The incident is racially charged, as the victim is black and the officers are all white, further stirring the crowd’s heated emotions. Police commissioner Sinclair Carver publicly announces an initiative to recruit more racially diverse members of the police force, but confides in the assistant commissioner, Ben Jago, that he harbors reservations about it, making several racist comments in the process. The victim of the beating, Billy Coates, dies from his injuries in the hospital as the riot intensifies. John addresses the angry mob, revealing the truth about Billy’s death and warning that any actions they take will reflect on them as people, and he promises to bring Billy’s killers to justice. His speech calms the crowd, averting destruction and quickly making John a hero in the eyes of the media. He returns home to his lover Dessie Brabant; the two are very much in love and plan to be married despite only knowing each other for a short time. A tabloid writer secretly recorded Carver’s racist comments and has them printed, striking a contrast with the news coverage of John’s response to the riot. Carver is called upon to resign, and he wants Ben to replace him as commissioner. John and Dessie are married in a private ceremony, accompanied only by Ben and by Dessie’s best friend Lulu. Their celebration is interrupted by the arrival of Superintendent Michael Cass, who calls away John on an urgent matter. He is brought to meet the Prime Minister himself, who wishes to appoint John as the new police commissioner in response to his heroics, hoping to “set an example” for the city at large. John accepts and tells Ben about it; he realizes that Ben wanted the job but felt he couldn’t say no, and notes that he will rely on Ben more than ever, that he will continue to be his most trusted confidante. Ben is outwardly happy for John, but secretly is intensely furious and resentful that he didn’t get the position. In response to this, Ben plans to exact vengeance on John. Ben begins his plan by seducing Lulu in order to find out more about Dessie. Dessie introduces John to her father James, a wealthy man who is unhappy at her choice of husband. He talks to John about Dessie’s sense of independence, and warns him that she has been secretive with him in the past. John’s first formal act as commissioner is to launch an investigation on the four officers who killed Billy Coates, vowing that they will not escape justice for their actions. He also announces a zero-tolerance policy in regards to racism and misconduct. Ben anonymously sends thugs to harass and threaten Dessie. John oversees the investigation of the officers, who all claim that the victim was armed and they attacked only in self-defense, stalling the case. He learns about the threats against Dessie and decides to post a constant bodyguard on her to keep her safe, and at Ben’s suggestion he appoints Michael. John grows frustrated at the lack of progress in the Coates case, but Ben advises him to be patient. Ben finally gets one officer, Alan Roderick, to break down emotionally, and he confesses that the other three officers brutally beat Coates, who was unarmed and did nothing more than taunt them. Michael spends time with Dessie as per his assignment. Ben subtly tries to get John suspicious of their time together, but he sees no cause for alarm. However, he soon begins to harbor suspicions and starts asking Dessie about her past; she insists that she loves him all the same. While out running together, Michael defends Dessie from the thugs who harassed her earlier, beating them up. Ben continues to imply a relationship between Dessie and Michael, showing him photographs of them running together. Over dinner, Dessie asks John if Michael is still needed since the threat to her has been dealt with, but John holds off for now, intending to discover if she is truly carrying on an affair. In private, Ben lies to Michael that John’s marriage to Dessie is a “show marriage,” and asks him to keep that information secret. Alan is ostracized at work for agreeing to testify against his fellow squad members in court. Michael’s duty as Dessie’s bodyguard continues and John gradually grows more suspicious of them. Alan meets with Ben to talk about the tremendous stress he is going under due to his testimony, and Ben offers to bring him out for drinks to ease his mind. On the day of the trial, Alan does not appear; it is revealed that he is dead from a combination of alcohol and an overdose of sleeping pills, possibly orchestrated by Ben. Without Alan’s testimony the case falls apart and Coates’s killers are not brought to justice for their crimes, which weighs heavily on John’s conscience. Michael has a few drinks with Dessie for his birthday, and he drunkenly puts on John’s favorite robe after spilling wine on his shirt. John comes home to find Michael in this state and angrily tells him to leave, believing that they are continuing to carry on their affair. He confronts her over this, and she finds it laughable that he believes there may be an affair. She seems to ease his mind, but he is still intensely suspicious and Ben offers to have the robe anonymously inspected by the police forensics lab to search for traces of sexual secretions to determine once and for all if Michael is sleeping with Dessie. John is uncomfortable with the idea, but agrees anyway, and later Ben invites him, Dessie, and Lulu out for dinner at a private room. At dinner, John casts a pall over the evening by bringing up issues surrounding racist attitudes. Michael arrives, having been invited by Dessie to allow him to apologize to John for the earlier misunderstanding. However, John is furious at him and attempts to physically assault him, only to be stopped by Ben. Michael leaves and John unsuccessfully tries to salvage their evening. At home, John furiously confronts Dessie, accusing her of sleeping around and of lying to him. She is distraught at his accusations and leaves to go to Lulu’s house for the time being. John tears up the room searching for evidence of an affair. He ambushes Michael in a parking garage and attacks him, nearly strangling him to death. However, Michael chooses not to reveal his attacker’s identity to the police. Ben tells John that the lab found traces of Michael’s DNA on the robe, convincing John that Dessie has been having an affair. He confronts her again and smothers her to death with a pillow as Lulu desperately tries to get into the apartment. She and Ben break in to find John standing over Dessie’s dead body. Ben says that the lab made a mistake and that Dessie was innocent the whole time, sending John into a fit of anguish. Lulu realizes that Ben was the one lying to John the entire time, and he sends her outside. John asks why he did it, and Ben states that John “took what was mine” when he accepted the commissioner position. John considers attacking Ben, but changes his mind and sends him away so he can “make things tidy.” John commits suicide out of despair, and the Prime Minister promptly appoints Ben to the commissioner’s position in his stead.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: January 28, 2002 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:76798
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1971-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rebecca Eaton … Executive Producer
- Jo Wright … Executive Producer
- Michele Buck … Executive Producer
- Steven Ashley … Senior Producer
- Anne Pivcevic … Producer
- Julie Gardner … Producer
- Ian Strachan … Line Producer
- Geoffrey Sax … Director
- Andrew Davies … Writer
- William Shakespeare … Based on the play by
- Debbie Wiseman … Music by
- Russell Baker … Host
- Eamonn Walker … Cast, John Othello
- Christopher Eccleston … Cast, Ben Jago
- Keeley Hawes … Cast, Dessie Brabant
- Bill Paterson … Cast, Sinclair Carver
- Richard Coyle … Cast, Michael Cass
- Rachael Stirling … Cast, Lulu
- Joss Ackland … Cast, James Brabant
- Christopher Fox … Cast, PC Adey
- Allan Cutts … Cast, PC Stiller
- Patrick Myers … Cast, PC Gaunt
- Del Synnott … Cast, PC Alan Roderick
- Samantha McDonald … Cast, Woman in Crowd
- Andrew Charleson … Cast, Tommy Rogers
- Nicholas Gecks … Cast, Home Secretary
- Carl McCrystal … Cast, Geoffrey
- Tim Faraday … Cast, Chief Superintendent
- Tim Frances … Cast, Newspaper Editor
- Phillip Lester … Cast, Photographer
- Timothy Birkett … Cast, Photographer
- Michelle Newell … Cast, Alma Carver
- John Harding … Cast, Prime Minister
- Gerrard MacArthur … Cast, Jim Gordon
- Nick Ewans … Cast, Functionary
- Laura Girling … Cast, PM's Wife
- Howard Coggins … Cast, Thug
- Anna Niland … Cast, Estelle
- Jon Snow … Cast, News Reader
- Claire Oberman … Cast, Prosecuting Counsel
- Bob Friend … Cast, TV Chairman
- Morgan Johnson … Cast, Billy Coates