THE FOUR FEATHERS (2002) 2 stars out of 4. Starring Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou and Michael Sheen. Director of photography Robert Richardson. Music composed and conducted by James Horner. Screenplay by Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini. Based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason. Directed by Shekhar Kapur. Rated PG-13. Running time: 127 minutes.
The Four Feathers offers some pleasurable moments, beautiful photography and scenery, but it also has a maddening propensity to step on its own toes by adhering to a political correctness that belies its historical backdrop.
Set in 1898 when the British Empire still ruled half the world, The Four Feathers tells the story of Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger), a young Army officer who resigns his commission on the eve of his regiment's departure for the Sudan to fight the rebellious Mahdi and his followers.
Three of Harry's comrades as well as his fiance, Ethne (Kate Hudson), each send him a white feather, the symbol of cowardice.
Overcome with guilt, Harry undertakes a journey to the Sudan to redeem himself, rescue his friends and make them take back their feathers.
This is the stuff of high adventure - which has been proven by five previous filmings of A.E.W. Mason's novel, the best remembered version of which is a 1939 British release.
Simply put, this latest rendering fails because of timidity as well as director Shekhar Kapur's political agenda. The movie tries not to offend anyone, except for the British, who are depicted as arrogant white supremacists who treat their dark-skinned subjects with brutality.
Thus, they get what's coming to them.
The debate over the ills of colonialism is best left to historians, not movie critics. But bogging down a period piece with contemporary issues creates a distraction.
The biggest change made by Kapur and screenwriters Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini concerns the addition of Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou) as a stereotypical symbolic noble savage who rescues the dying Harry in the Sudanese desert and for no discernible reason becomes his protector as well as his helper.
This undercuts the film's redemptive theme as Harry is no longer relying solely on his wits and courage to fulfill his quest.
The Four Feathers is a pretty movie, with sumptuous English settings as well as desolate desert vistas, shot by cinematographer Robert Richardson. James Horner, however, has composed one of those obnoxious choral scores that intrudes on the action.
The performances are uneven. Ledger is handsome, conflicted and determined as Harry, while Hudson shines in her 19th-century finery, even though she has little to do but weep and maintain a stiff upper lip.
As Jack Durrance, Harry's closest friend, Wes Bentley works hard to maintain his upper-class British officer's accent. His actions are dictated more by plot than character as at first he defends Harry, then tries to steal his fiance, and finally dons the mantle of noble sacrifice. Hounsou, plays a role akin to his character in Gladiator with touches borrowed from Morgan Freeman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. His main function is to drop aphorisms about God, fate and duty.
The Four Feathers features some impressive battle sequences, as well as a rather brutal rugby match, but most of the movie drags as the characters spend countless minutes doing nothing but looking mournful or soulful.
You'd expect more from the director who made the stunning Elizabeth a few years ago. Unfortunately, his criticisms of British imperialism - while perhaps valid - clouded his overall judgment and distracted him from his primary mission - retelling a venerable saga that has entertained viewers and readers for almost a century.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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