The Four Feathers (DVD)

...Kapur's 'The Four Feathers' is the sixth film adaptation of AEW Mason's novel about a man given four white feathers of cowardice by his friends and fiancée. Unfortunately Kapur's film, which is full of enormous plot holes and a distracting love triangle, could have achieved much more by departing further from Mason's dated material. It is obvious that Kapur, as an Indian, was hoping to make a commentary on the attitude and actions of the British ...
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Set in the 1880s, Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) and his four friends - Willoughby (Rupert Penry-Jones), Trench (Michael Sheen), Castleton, also known as Vicar (Kris Marshall), and his closest friend, Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) - all lead privileged lives as officers in the Royal Cumbrians. As yet these fresh faced youths have not yet seen active service, but when the called to fight against the Mahdi in the Sudan, Harry gives in to ... more

Shekar Kapur's 'The Four Feathers' is the sixth film adaptation of AEW Mason's novel about a man given four white feathers of cowardice by his friends and fiancée. Unfortunately Kapur's film, which is full of enormous plot holes and a distracting love triangle, could have achieved much more by departing further from Mason's dated material. It is obvious that Kapur, as an Indian, was hoping to make a commentary on the attitude and actions of the British colonial power. The problem is that the one hundred year old book is fervently pro-empire and Kapur never quite manages to subvert this despite his creation of an additional character.

Set in the 1880s, Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) and his four friends - Willoughby (Rupert Penry-Jones), Trench (Michael Sheen), Castleton, also known as Vicar (Kris Marshall), and his closest friend, Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) - all lead privileged lives as officers in the Royal Cumbrians. As yet these fresh faced youths have not yet seen active service, but when the called to fight against the Mahdi in the Sudan, Harry gives in to his fears and asks to be released from the army. This leads his Father to shun him and his fiancée, Ethne (Kate Hudson), and all his friends - bar Durrance - to give him the white feather. In order to redeem himself Harry follows after his friends, determined to return their feathers when he has shown himself to be worthy of such an act. In his quest he meets Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounslou), screenwriter Michael Shiffer's native addition, who proceeds to save Harry on more than one occasion.

The first problem with this film is that the romantic elements seem out of place in a film where the bond of friendship is key. Not only does it slow the film's early stages and remove the punch from the finale, but the snippets of England and Ethne only seem to distract from the much more interesting action pieces set in the Sudan. In a film that is obviously trying to update the already repeatedly told story for a modern audience, Ethne appears to be a character devoid of any real drive or passion. Although she is meant to be in love with Harry, Hudson only appears to play the role as a repressed Englishwoman with a vague attachment to the reluctant hero. (She is certainly not the sort of figure that any female would aspire to or necessarily admire because she is far too weak.) Admittedly this was not helped by these romantic scenes being overly wordy and overly long, but surely Hudson could have summoned up enough anger that the feather could have been given in a rash, and later regretted, moment.

There are then an array of plot holes that include key elements to the plot. Two examples that immediately spring to mind are the motivations for two of Harry's most important decisions. As the film stands, it really does appear that Harry made his decision not to fight on the back of one night's fear - surely his reluctance in being part of the army would have extended further? He also seems to make his U-turn remarkably easily. Surely he experienced more public animosity than a few white feathers and his Father's displeasure? Could that have been what led to his risky journey?

At one moment Harry is passing himself off as an Arab, and in the next he has made friends incredibly easily with Abu precisely because he is English. Which begs yet another question: if Abu has received the kind of treatment he seems to from the English, why does he decide to protect an Englishman? For me it seemed to reconfirm many of the ideas that I assumed Kapur was trying to subvert. The black man appears to be protecting the white because he is 'superior' - and frankly, if this is just a misapprehension then Kapur gives us nothing to dispel it.

Some clumsy attempts are also made at comparing the English and the Mahdi, such as when both sides are seen praying before battle, but even these leave us with the impression that they are 'savages' rather than men trying to protect their own land.

All this being said, there are a lot of things to like about 'The Four Feathers'. Robert Richardson's cinematography is simply stunning and helps to distinguish the different settings: England looks like an old oil painting using dark greens and dull greys that appear mottled when seen through dense fog; whereas the Sudan contains burnished bronze sand that reflects the light like water. One moment worthy of mention is when the British troups are attacked by the Mahdi and are forced to form a square. The enormity of the situation is demonstrated by the use of an aerial shot which left me gasping.

Even stunning cinematography could not save a film if it had no other redeeming features, but the saving grace of this film is a smattering of good performances and engaging action. Wes Bentley proved with 'American Beauty' that he was a young actor to watch and this film does not disprove that. By far he gives the strongest performance of the two young male leads. He manages to maintain a remarkably good English accent and infuses Durrance with an integrity that is slightly at odds with some of his later actions. In a film of this type where people tend to be categorised as villain or hero, it could have been very easy for him to have been classed as the former, but Bentley manages to add that third dimension that appears to be slightly lacking from Ledger's performance. Another actor worthy of mention is Kris Marshall. Having only previously seen him in the British sitcom 'My Family' it was a revelation to see that he is capable of mature performances that do not require he plays the idiot.

The action sequences, however, really are key to this film and manage to provide enough surprises that they will maintain interest and prevent the film from becoming ridiculous. They also display a number of the tensions that might arise should a group of close friends be forced to make difficult decisions in the face of battle. Although 'The Four Feathers' does not show war as the bloodbath of 'Saving Private Ryan' it packs enough moments that will leave you a little stunned.

Essentially my feeling is that had Shekar Kapur and Michael Shaffer chosen to look more carefully at their adaptation of the book they could have created a film that was more coherent and added a new dimension to the history of the book's adaptations. Admittedly it would probably have departed from the material to a greater extent, but as they were irreverent enough to add another key character then this could not really have been a problem. (Perhaps this, itself, might have yielded a new title that would have added a little distance between the film and its dated source.) As it is it may only be remembered as the stunningly shot, yet ultimately misjudged, sixth adaptation of Mason's book.

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This is really a 2.5 out of 5, but I couldn't give it a 3, as there are films that ultimately are better than this that I'd give 3. Watch it on TV... don't waste your money.

Currently available on DVD from play.com for £7.99
 

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