The Four Feathers Starring Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson Directed by Shekhar Kapur Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disturbing images, violence and some sensuality **1/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: C+

Theatrical Release: September 20, 2002

Running time: 125 minutes

by Kevin Lang

"The Four Feathers" had been advertised to be a film comparable to grand epics like "Gladiator" and "Braveheart." Unfortunately, "The Four Feathers" lacked the essential ingredients of an epic that these films had, which included, most importantly, a story that slowly took hold of us and didn't let go until the theater lights rose for the credits.

"The Four Feathers" was based on the 1901 A.E.W. Mason novel of the same name. It had been previously adapted for the screen in 1939, and I recommend the earlier version over the latest one, which was more drawn out and less emotionally moving.

Australian born actor Heath Ledger starred in the film directed by Shekhar Kapur (1998's "Elizabeth"). Ledger was joined by Kate Hudson ("Almost Famous") and Wes Bentley (American Beauty) who played his romantic interest and his best friend respectively. The story revolved around Ledger's character, Harry Faversham, who deserted the British Army upon receiving orders that his unit was going to ship out to fight in North Africa. Subsequently, he was given four white feathers (each symbolic of cowardice) by members of his unit and his girlfriend Ethne (Kate Hudson). After hearing of the losses suffered by his former comrades, he set off as a civilian to help them and to erase the label that the feathers had branded him with. Along the way he was aided by a desert-wise wanderer named Abou Fatma (Gladiator's Djimon Hounsou), who acted like a protective angelic figure, watching over Harry as he struggled to help his friends.

It was not at all a bad premise for a story. The problem arose in its execution. We saw the characters going through a great deal on the screen, but their emotions failed to reach us. The pivotal points in the story, such as when Harry struggled to save the life of his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) during the film's major battle sequence, didn't seem as pivotal as they should have. Instead, Harry and Jack's own bond was clouded by Ethne's wavering affection for both of them, and their affection for her. The romantic triangle that developed between the three did so little for the film that it could have been left out altogether to focus more on the bond between Harry and Jack. I'm often a sucker for romance, but in this case it seemed to hinder the overall impact of the story more than help it. I almost ended up caring more about Harry's bond with the desert wanderer Abou than I did his bond with Jack or Ethne.

In the end, "The Four Feathers" amounted to far less than it should have given the respected novel on which it was based and the film's rather talented cast.

"The Four Feathers" Review written September 22, 2002, CTF.