Four Feathers (2002)
"Four Feathers" is a really awesome
film set in the Sudan that is, unfortunately, bookended
by two really horrible sections set in England.
Sure, for the film to work there
has to be a set-up, but director Shekhar Kapur takes
his own sweet time getting to the meat of the story
and, therefore, wastes ours. There are endlessly long
and unnecessary scenes in the set-up, many of them
sloppily edited with glaring continuity issues. Kapur
is hoping that we will be so overwhelmed by the cinematic
opulence and the pretentious camera work that we won't
notice just how lazy his direction is. But, for most
of this time during the first 30 minutes or so, we're
bored shitless, so it's easy to start picking apart
the film.
Just when we are about to give up
on this stylized nonsense, Kapur gets to the meat
of the story and during the epic battle scenes and
images of the vast desert landscape in the Sudan,
his style begins to pay off. The larger-than-life
battle scenes, mirroring the grandiose opulence of
the beginning scenes, work really well. There's is
an overhead shot mid-way through the film, during
the most complex battle sequence, that is breath-taking.
Kapur proves that given some substantial action to
present, he is an astounding director. It is only
when he is asked to reflect the human element of a
story that he can go awry. Likewise, his expansive
desert shots, in glorious Technicolor, rival David
Lean at his most perfect moments.
There is a really interesting look
at Middle Eastern life at this period, around 1900,
in the film's center segment, its meat. Unfortunately,
Kapur has cast hottie Heath Ledger in the lead and
then forced him to wear a beard and sometimes wear
cloth that covers his face, as he is hiding out, pretending
to be a native man. No one wants to see Ledger looking
like this. It is cinematic blasphemy to make him out
to not be a pretty boy. For much of this segment,
Ledger is costumed like a refugee from an 80's Thompson
Twins video. It would have been wiser to have Wes
Bently play this role and Ledger, in turn, his.
But the acting is just fine. Ledger
never embarrasses himself in the mid-section of the
film. He and Bently do share a couple of moments when
in England which are soooooooo gay that one almost
laughs. There is an undercurrent of homoeroticism
in the opening and closing segments that punctuate
the grittiness and harsh reality of the mid- section.
Or, at least, I think that's what they are intended
to do.
Chief among the acting greats in
this film is Djimon Hounsou, who is fast becoming
typecast as the quiet yet resilient dark-skinned man.
We've seen him do what he does here in both "Armistad"
and "Gladiator." He is enormously likeable here, however,
and helps Ledger extrapolate something human from
the film. Their relationship, and the wonderful acting
that brings it forth, is the heart of the film, without
a doubt. It almost makes you believe Kapur knows what
he is doing.
September is a notorious dumping
ground for bad movies. Why Paramount, who works in
conjunction with Mirimax here, opted to put this film
out now (9/20/02) is anyone's guess. It is sure to
generate some Oscar buzz in a few months, if only
for the technical aspects of the film. Nods for cinematography
(Oliver Stone crony Robert Richardson) and costumes
(Ruth Myers) seem imminent. Hounsou could very well
be considered for supporting actor as well. I imagine
that this film will get re-released in January to
remind Oscar voters just how good it is.
