Well well well, Hollywood. It’s good to see you back in the saddle, bra.
After what seemed like an eternity of middling, low-profile releases about disgruntled mega-mart employees and some sort of ethnic celebration of matrimony, big and bawdy filmmaking once again finds its way to the multiplex near you in the form of “The Four Feathers.”
Preliminary reviews and would-be Oscar buzz for director Shekhar Kapur’s follow-up to “Elizabeth” are more than abundant if for no other reason than it comes on the heels of what have been the slowest couple of weeks in recent box-office history. But if you’ve got an itch for early award-season fare, don’t look for the “Feathers” to scratch it.
To judge the film simply by its timing is a bit unfair, but “The Four Feathers” would be well-meaning, yet mawkish in any season.
Adaptation number seven (count’em–seven!) of A.E.W. Mason’s novel, Kapur’s version still finds newly engaged British officer Harry Faversham (Heath Ledger, “A Knight’s Tale”) deserting his army on the eve of their being sent to quell a rebel uprising in the Sudan. His cowardice is called out, though, when three of his compatriots send him the titular plumage; his fiancée Ethne (Kate Hudson, “Almost Famous”) adds insult to injury by giving him the fourth feather.
Disowned by his father, friends and everyone he loves, Harry sets out for the Sudan incognito to secretly aid the British army and, consequently, redeem his reputation. He befriends a Sudanese mercenary named Abou (Djimon Hounsou, “Amistad”), and the two fight alongside the British even though their efforts often go unappreciated.
Harry continues his quest for uber-honor by breaking another friend out of a P.O.W. camp, but returns to London only to find Ethne caught up in a love triangle with Harry’s best friend Jack (Wes Bentley, “American Beauty”). But hey, that’s nothing a couple of overly convenient plot twists can’t take care of.
As a historical/war drama, “The Four Feathers” works quite well. Although Kapur isn’t too interested in addressing the contemporary implications of the white colonization of Muslim lands or trying to create sympathy for a people (the British, in this case) who are essentially evil-doers, he smartly focuses on crafting dramatic conflicts out of things like soldierly honor, friendship and love.
He shows an assured hand in the film’s desert scenes and battle centerpiece, creating a world as confusing and devoid of humanity as the moral line walked by its protagonists.
It is when the story returns to London that “Feathers” begins to feels a little bit like trashy BBC-melodrama.
While Ledger, Hudson and Bentley are all accomplished beyond their years, they can only do so much to keep from looking completely stiff and uncomfortable with trite dialogue and foreign accents.
That said, Ledger more than holds his own in the leading role. Bearded and sun-baked in the Sudan, he takes on the look of Jesus Christ, no doubt in Kapur’s semi-successful quest to portray him as a martyr.
On the whole, “The Four Feathers” comes out as a semi-success as well, not quite achieving the epic status it so desperately seeks, but at the same time turning away chances for storytelling subtleties that would have made it a little less grandiose. It simply represents a stepping-stone for a director and fine, young cast who are nowhere near reaching the pinnacle of their careers and give us plenty to hope for.
Grade: B
