Cast: Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Producers: Robert D. Jaffe, Stanley R. Jaffe, Martz Katz
Screenplay: Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini, based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason
Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Music: James Horner
U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
For a member of the British army to receive a white feather, it is the ultimate mark of disdain - a symbol that cries out the man's cowardice. The year is 1884 and the British Empire is in full sway. An uprising in the Sudan forces Her Majesty's army to mobilize several regiments for transport there to protect the Empire's interests. Among those scheduled to go are best friends Harry Faversham (teen heartthrob Heath Ledger) and Jack Durrance (another teen heartthrob, Wes Bentley), both lieutenants in the Royal Cumbrian Regiment. Harry is engaged to the beautiful Ethne Eustace (Kate Hudson), a woman also desired by Jack, who keeps his distance, respecting his friend's relationship. When it is announced that the Royal Cumbrians will be going into battle, Harry is horrified. He resigns his commission and is branded a coward. Later, with the stench of failure adhering to him and poisoning his life, he decides to go to Africa on his own, disguised as an Arab and searching for redemption, possibly by aiding Jack and the regiment at some point. He nearly dies on the trek there, but a mysterious native of the Sudan, Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), saves his life and appoints himself as Harry's guardian.
As epic adventures go, The Four Feathers is adequate. Technically and visually, the battle scenes are spectacular. There is an adrenaline rush when the armies collide, separate, then crash together again. Some of the shots of the desert are breathtaking. (Although this is hardly the first motion picture that can make such a claim - Lawrence of Arabia leaps forcefully to mind. The credit goes more to the natural beauty of the landscape than to the competence of director Shekhar Kapur and cinematographer Robert Richardson.) But the story fails to build and drive forward the way it should. The tone is uneven, with the narrative advancing in fits and starts, then occasionally coming to a nearly complete halt. Couple that with an intrusive score by James Horner (that borrows liberally from his work from Titanic) and an ending that seems to drag on for as long as the main body of the film, and The Four Feathers falls short of what one might reasonably expect from Kapur, whose previous feature, Elizabeth, put him on the map for English-speaking audiences after the international success of Bandit Queen.
At the outset, it appears that The Four Feathers may be taking a revisionist view of war and British Imperialism. However, Kapur quickly dispels that notion, opting instead for a straightforward and almost old fashioned view of battle. Instead of re-working the storyline (from the 1901 book by A.E.W. Mason, which has already been adapted several times for the cinema - most notably in a 1939 version directed by Zoltan Korda). This is the kind of adventure movie that was made when audiences didn't want questions asked about "right" and "wrong". The man who queries the ethics of the situation (the British fighting and dying in the Sudan) is branded a coward and shown to have committed a grievous sin by betraying his brothers and soiling his honor. In order to wash clean his reputation and regain the love of his friends and family, he must seek redemption by standing side-by-side with his fellows in combat. On this level, war is not seen from a political and/or moral perspective. Rather, it is presented as a fraternity in the trenches. The view is simplistic, and it reduces The Four Feathers to little more than an action movie. Unfortunately, because the action comes irregularly and is punctuated by periods of character-building and exposition, the production stumbles.
The cast for The Four Feathers seems to have been assembled with the intent of drawing in a teenage crowd rather than in obtaining the best actors for the roles. Heath Ledger and Wes Bentley are both fine in their parts, but neither crafts a memorable character. A standout is Djimon Hounsou, whose Abou comes across as an almost mystical seer who is ready to save the day at any moment. (Incidentally, instead of "Abou", he could have been named "Deus Ex Machina" - it would have fit events nicely.) Another standout is Kate Hudson, although for all the wrong reasons. Her performance is awful and her clumsy acting is further damaged by her failed attempts to employ a now-you-hear-it-now-you-don't British accent. As well cast as she was in Almost Famous, that's how badly cast she is here.
To a certain extent, Kapur is going out on a limb with this film. Despite the success of Gladiator, epic adventures are not in vogue, and it's a dubious gamble that audiences will be intrigued enough by the great visuals, tepid love story, and uneven narrative to give this one a try. It's not really a video movie - too many of its saving graces will be lost on the small screen, but I don't feel wholly comfortable recommending this for theatrical viewing. A tighter version of the same story might have captured and held my interest, but this one had the proceedings wandering like the riderless camels in the desert.
© 2002 James Berardinelli