Watching the new historical epic The Four Feathers was like watching the CliffsNotes on a movie screen.
In the would-be saga, based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason, Australian actor Heath Ledger plays Harry Feversham, a British soldier in 1898. Feversham was part of a group of inseparable pals, including his best friend, Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley, American Beauty).
Harry is in love with Ethne Eustace (Kate Hudson), which we know because instead of mingling at a party, they stand outside like kids sneaking cigarettes at recess, kissing each other madly. Oh, the unexplained passion.
After the party, the British decide to go to war in the desolate country of Sudan with a rogue group of foreigners called the Mahdi. Harry has his doubts about the upcoming battle and quits the army. Instead of being good friends, Harry's pals, excluding Jack and his fiance, dub him a coward by sending him the titular four feathers. These feathers make a few appearances, mainly from inside Harry's pockets, and aren't really a huge part of the story.
Harry, with the feathers in tow, is considered an outcast, even by his strict father. He decides to prove himself to all of his peers by going to Sudan and infiltrating the other side of the fight, helping the British. He is aided in his quest to be a total hypocrite by Abou (Djimon Hounsou), an African who speaks English, yet treats the British with disdain. The scenes with these two try too hard to be funny. The topic of redemption through a hellish war is not funny; the subject should be treated with respect and dignity.
The double-sided problem lies in the script and direction. I got the feeling that the screenwriters read the novel and decided which paragraphs to put on the big screen. I haven't read the novel, though it must have more to offer since the story has been made into six different times. I doubt that the author decided to skimp over logical thoughts, such as: "How did Harry get from Britain to Sudan? Hell, how did he get back to Britain? How did he get in a prison?"
It would have also been nice if screenwriters Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini decided to make the British either the good guys or the bad guys. There are many times in this movie that make the British seem villainous, and others when the British seem cuddly. It all leads back to the problem with comedy in The Four Feathers.
There's nothing wrong with some humorous scenes every so often, but at one point during a conversation between Harry and Abou that is obviously meant to be funny, I thought to myself "Why, they're the new Odd Couple. Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou. What wacky misadventures will they get into next?" Every possible moment that could be treated with dignity is given a make-over of idiotic, misplaced comic relief.
It is ironic, then, that the only noteworthy things are the performances of Ledger and Hounsou. The only thing I can hope when thinking about this movie is that someone sees, in this unfocused mess of celluloid, two exemplary performances by two men who are just as determined as their characters.
Harry goes through hell to get to his redemption and encounters many obstacles, but refuses to give up. Ledger does a fine job of portraying this tortured young man. Hounsou is basically playing his character from Amistad, but now he's speaking English. Still, he can play that character very well, and his time in The Four Feathers is no different.
Kate Hudson does her best to play a hypocritical young woman who is torn between best friends, but her character is treated with so little care that the audience has no reason to feel any sympathy for her. One minute she wants to dump Harry, the next, she wants to get back with him. Wes Bentley is given an unsympathetic character to play; for a best friend, he seems like a weasel, even if he doesn't contribute to the four feathers.
Then there's the direction. Shekhar Kapur has one claim to fame: the 1998 biopic Elizabeth, which introduced America to British actress Cate Blanchett. Kapur has not directed an action film before. He should not continue to try, because he directed the many action scenes in the film poorly.
Another problem is that The Four Feathers is supposed to be an epic. When a two-hour movie decides to skimp on a minor plot point once, it's forgivable, but when it skimps on many plot points, it gets annoying. Finally, does Mr. Kapur have to film nearly every scene in slow motion? It starts out stylish, but loses effect in the end.
The Four Feathers is just a work in progress. I imagine that if the same cast was brought back in a few years, with a better script and a better director, the movie would be more satisfying, but I wouldn't want to sit through The Four Feathers more than once.
Contact freelance writer Josh Spiegel at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
|
Click here for a feature on Heath Ledger. |
