Genre Drama Rating PG-131 1/2 out of 5 stars

From the trailers distributed a month ago to theatres nationwide, “The Four Feathers” looked like an Oscar contender.

Adults lined up for the drama, young men lined up for the inevitable bloodshed, and teenage girls lined up for Heath Ledger.

Even though Ledger’s good looks didn’t disappoint, the movie did.

Set in 1884, Harry Faversham (Heath Ledger, “The Patriot”) and his best friend Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley, “American Beauty”) are up and coming officers in Her Majesty’s British Army.

When they are notified that they’re to be transferred to the Sudan in efforts to quell an uprising, Harry resigns his commission to remain safe in England.

He receives four white feathers – a trademark of cowardice – from three friends and his fiancee, Ethne (Kate Hudson “Almost Famous”).

It is here that the title’s meaning is revealed.

But beware, this is the last thing you’ll understand for the duration of the movie.

Harry travels to the Sudan and, under the guise of a wandering Arab, is put to work moving the British encampment with which his friends are stationed.

Determined to redeem himself by acting as a spy within the workers, Harry discovers a group of Islamic spies inside the camp. He also tries to make himself a hero by meeting with a wandering man named Abou (Djimon Hounsu, “Amistad”), who imparts wisdom to Harry and gives the movie a (much needed) interesting character.

After what seems like an endless cycle of failure and grunting, complete with screaming and bloodshed, Harry redeems himself in his own eyes, bringing the movie to an anticipated end.

“Feathers” commits a cardinal sin of movie making – it actually seems two hours long.

After a while, the women watching are going to stop paying attention to the movie and start thinking about how nice it would be to clean all the dirt off Heath Ledger. Men will simply fall asleep.

Because this film is poorly edited, anyone who watches is going to lose track of what’s happening faster than Ledger can fall into Hounsou’s arms and start weeping.

There are more unnecessary scenes than poignant ones, and the few that maintain a level of clarity are soon overrun with over-the-top acting and a script that should have been scrapped before it was even written.

To their credit, Bentley and Hudson give decent performances, although Bentley was clearly miscast.

It’s only toward the end of the movie that Bentley comes into his own as a disillusioned veteran with a fiancee who clearly longs for someone else. Hudson, on the other hand, loses her credibility the moment Bentley gains his.

Though she plays the happy-go-lucky girl well, the role of a long-suffering victim of self-pity doesn’t pan well with her.

In short, if you’re looking for a movie that is reminiscent of “The English Patient” in its length, level of boredom, and stuffy British accents, go see “The Four Feathers.”

However, if you’re going just for Heath Ledger, Blockbuster has a copy of “Ten Things I Hate About You.”

May I have this dance? Harry (Heath Ledger) and Ethne (Kate Hudson) share an elaborate dance whose slow pace was probably inspired by the film. (Mirimax/Paramount )