The Four Feathers

2002

PG-13

2h 12m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

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A young British officer resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers as symbols of what they view as his cowardice. To redeem his honor, he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves their lives.

Directors

Shekhar Kapur

Writers

Michael Schiffer(screenplay by)

A.E.W. Mason(novel by)

Hossein Amini(screenplay by)

Stars

Heath Ledger

Wes Bentley

Kate Hudson

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Photos34

Top cast

Harry Faversham

Jack Durrance

Ethne Eustace

Abou Fatma

Colonel Hamilton

William Trench

Isabelle

Col. Sutch

Aunt Mary

Gustave

Sudanese Storyteller

Dervish Ansar

Colonel Other Regiment

Egyptian Orderly

Millie

Drunken Corporal

British Lion

Woman in Red Veil

Directors

Shekhar Kapur

Writers

Michael Schiffer(screenplay by)

A.E.W. Mason(novel by)

Hossein Amini(screenplay by)

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Review

Featured review

6/10

***Brits fighting Sudanese rebels in 1884 with Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson*** Based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason, a greenhorn British regiment in 1884 is commissioned to Egyptian-ruled Sudan to fight Mahdi rebels. A young officer, Harry (Heath Ledger), unexpectedly resigns and is shamed as a coward by his three best friends (e.g. Wes Bentley) and fiancée (Kate Hudson). After the negative fallout he goes to Sudan undercover to hopefully redeem his honor. "The Four Feathers" (2002) is similar to Victorian-Brits-fighting-in-Africa flicks like “Zulu” (1964) and “Khartoum” (1966), but I prefer this one as it’s just more compelling and is a quality modern production (I’ve never seen the old-fashioned 1939 version). There are a lot of gems to mine here, like Harry’s individualism in the face of great social pressure to conform. His reasoning is simple: He never wanted to be a soldier and only took the commission to please his gung-ho militarist father. Besides, how is what’s happening in the Sudanese desert relevant to him and the British in the first place? Why should he risk dying or losing a limb for this dubious purpose? One of the best parts is Harry’s growing friendship with Sudanian Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou). Unfortunately, the movie’s hampered by two problems: The mechanics of the plot sometimes drive the characters and it doesn’t feel natural or real. For instance, when Harry easily joins the Mahdi rebels and is later seen riding toward the British regiment it’s serious “Yeah, right” territory. Another problem is that, from the main battle forward the movie doesn’t allow itself to breath and seems like it’s in a rush, like it doesn’t have the confidence to slow down and tell the story because it’s worried about fitting into a 2-hour timeframe and pleasing those with ADHD. If you can get past those two hitches, this is a worthy historical adventure flick. The film runs 2 hours, 12 minutes and was shot in England and Morocco. GRADE: C+/B-

Wuchak21 May, 2019