|
THE FOUR FEATHERS Send This Review to a Friend
There isn't an artistic reason for remaking this tale of British imperialism, and the attempt to make it somewhat contemporary falls flat. "The Four Feathers," a dud screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and now in release, is based on the 1902 novel by A. E. W. Mason and directed by Shekhar Kapur. The story harks back to Britain's war in the Sudan and deals with alleged cowardice, loyalty, heroism and, of course, love. There have been various versions, but when Zoltan Korda directed his 1939 epic, it benefited from having the great actor Ralph Richardson and the movie aura of its time.
Heath Ledger is unexciting in the role of Harry, who quits the army rather than be shipped off to possible death. He is sent four feathers indicating cowardice, three from his military buddies, one from Ethne (Kate Hudson), the woman to whom he is supposed to be married. How will he redeem himself?
The problem is that his act was more rational than cowardly. Why die needlessly for empire? The update, with a script by Michael Schiffer and Hossein Amini, tries to celebrate conscience while prizing the importance of loyalty to one's comrades and one's country even though the cause may be wrong. It also wants to have it both ways by making the woman realize she should have stood by her man and his decision.
There is also a bit of an effort at updating by having Sudanese youths throw rocks at the British (shades of the Palestinians versus Israel), and this further muddles the already muddled film. But issues aside, "The Four Feathers" just becomes a boring saga despite the effort put into the action and depiction of slaughter. The old-fashioned story would have been better left to the films of the past. We plod through knowing that Harry will best his rival (Wes Bentley) to win Ethne and the couple will presumably live happily ever after, perhaps tickling each other with her feather. A Paramount Pictures release.
|