Flicks-a-saurus Rex

Four Feathers

Director: Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth and Elizabeth II: The Golden Age)

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disturbing images, violence and some sensuality.

Starring: Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou, and Micheal Sheen

Heath Ledger in one of his most riveting and emotional roles; Four Feathers is a drama of epic proportions. This is a slow movie, not slow like a monotonous three hours of unbridled dialogue dipped in pompous English accents. Instead it is a masterfully built story about redemption and loyalty that has desolate scenes of desert travel and panning shots of the African landscape as characters contemplate there situation. This is a story of the horrors of foreign wars fought by soldiers who did not understand the need for England to spread itself across the nations of the earth. I think it is a very appropriate movie for our time because it deals with issues of war and hate in a venue a little removed historically, but still pertinent.



Ledger plays young Harry, the son a career military man who now faces war or the woman he loves. His closest friends ship out to fight in the deserts of Africa, while Harry stays behind. Disgraced he feels he must head to Africa to find his friends and prove to everyone he is not a coward. Each feather is a sign of disgrace given him by former comrades in arms and he quests to return the feathers. Heath, with a beard that rivals those of the Old Testament prophets, is brilliant as the young adventurer. He is racked with guilt and torn between his fears and his need to be a better man. His journey is a message to everyone that the path to redemption is difficult.



Supporting Leger's phenomenal performance is Djimon Hounsosou (Gladiator and Blood Diamond). He plays the guardian angel, watching Harry closely in his search for his friends and aiding the boy with the words, “God put you in my path.” He is a stony character with a sneer that could kill the faint of heart, and a smile that could melt ice. He and Ledger make a dynamic duo more interesting than Batman and Robin.



Michael Sheen (The Damned United, Frost Nixon, and the head vampire in New Moon – BLAH!) is a youthful companion of Harry’s. He is a handsome actor and really fun to watch in his supporting part here. It is interesting to see how far he has come in the last few years, and I loved seeing him as a young military officer in this movie.

While slow, this film doesn’t seem to drag at all. The scenes all flow together well, and while sometimes they do jump in the story and leave the audience saying, “What the heck,” it still manages to flow rather well; telling a gripping story and ties up almost all of the loose end eventually.

I wouldn’t say this is a movie for everyone. It is a deeper film that has a lot of emotion. Some people want thoughtless action with little character development and virtually no plot, just look at what is in the theaters and you can tell. While

Four Feathers has a lot of tear jerking war scenes, and breath taking action (done tastefully but still with the dirt and grit of realism) it focuses on Harry’s relationships with his friends and the steps he takes to prove to them and himself he is not a coward. It is a movie that focuses on the emotions of the characters, and it picked fantastic actors who do just that. While it does have four different ending spots that seem to drag out a little bit it is still a well paced film that uses is slower scenes to add emphasis and drama. Four Feathers is a marvelous film with a deep plot, and exciting story, and rich characters. Don’t miss this film, it is an easy 8.5 out of 10.



Sex/Nudity – 5 out of 10 – Two side characters have sex behind a rock as a man looks on trying not to be seen; we see them kissing, moaning, and moving from the neck up. We see some men bare from the chest up. There is some talk about soldiers and prostitutes.

Violence/ Gore – A man stabs a camel and drinks its blood because he is dying of dehydration. Many people are shot and killed. In some prison scenes men are beaten and bloodied. A man is hit over the head with a rock and we see blood. One man is savagely beaten to death off screen but we hear the thuds. Men fight over scraps of food and beat each other. A man is whipped savagely (no blood is shown). We see the legs of men who have been hung, and we see many dead corpses. Some rugby violence. One big battle scene with a lot of shooting and death, no spurting blood or anything like that.



Profanity – Three or four mild obscenities and two or three religious exclamations.