Title: Benedict Arnold: A Question Of
Honor
Stars: Aidan Quinn, Kelsey Grammar,
Flora Montgomery, John Light, and Tom Murphy
Writer: William Mastrosimone
Director: Mikael Salomon
Running Time: 92 minutes without
commercials
Media: A&E Original Movie Premiere
(NTSC VHS Screener)
Premiere Monday, January 13, 2003, at
8pm (ET)/ 7PM (CT)
Network: Arts & Entertainment
Network (Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: PG
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
To paraphrase William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” the fault Brutus lies not in our stars, but in ourselves… Aidan Quinn stars as Major Benedict Arnold in the A&E Original Movie Premiere “Benedict Arnold: A Question Of Honor.” This drama focuses upon the relationship between George Washington, (played here by Kelsey Grammer), and Arnold, who is the object of jealousy by his military contemporaries and as a result is constantly ridiculed with false accusations that have caused the Continental Congress to turn their backs on him and withhold his pay. As a result Arnold is poor, but hungry for victory and he is also a brave and brilliant military strategist. After winning the Battle of Saratoga, Arnold is dishonored for leading the charge without prior authorization and thrown to the wolves. His failed campaign at Quebec is used against him, but his sacrifices and pleas for a Court Martial to vindicate himself are ignored for political reasons.
So it is no surprise
that through the seduction of a his newlywed loyalist wife (Flora Montgomery),
the resentment of his own troops, and the absence of Washington’s support,
Arnold allows himself to give into the lust for honor he feels that he deserves
and privilege and title he yearns for and attempts to sell out Washington to the
British at West Point and subsequently follows a series of events that
tragically lead to the infamy of Benedict Arnold upon American history.
I found “Benedict
Arnold: A Question Of Honor” to be an above average character study, but with
a melodramatic overtone that at times undercuts the seriousness of the events as
they unfold. Quinn is fabulous and the language appears to have been crafted to
fit the way people of the time spoke, but the two weak links are an overlong
narration at the film’s close that seems out of place with the tone of the
rest of the film and disrupts the theatrical nature of the movie and the noble,
but questionable casting of Kelsey Grammer as “George Washington.” Grammer
does a good job and it is not his fault in any way because Grammer is an
accomplished actor in both serious and comedic performances, but one cannot
help, but think at any moment while watching this movie that Grammer will go
into comedy mode and become “Frasier.” Over a decade of playing the
character on NBC has left a mark upon him and while I have no doubt that Grammer
can be an excellent dramatic star, Grammer as George Washington just doesn’t
seem right to me. However I must stress that he does an amiable job in the film
and he does manage make us think we are watching our first American President in
action, but to what level of believability is truly a subjective matter I leave
for the viewer to decide.
There are some
well-choreographed battle scenes and bloodless violence. An encore presentation
of the film will air at 10pm (ET)/ 9PM (CT) and subsequently a DVD-Video with
extra features that include “Biography: Benedict Arnold: Triumph And
Treason” and a making of featurette. The DVD will carry a suggested retail
price of $19.95 and will also be available separately or with the acclaimed
A&E film “The Crossing,” which presents a bleaker point in the American
Revolution for George Washington. These DVD-Videos will street on Tuesday,
February 11, 2003.
Definitely worth a
watch, “Benedict Arnold: A Question Of Honor” will premiere on A&E on
Monday, January 13, 2003, at 8PM (ET)/ 7PM (CT).
© Copyright 2003 By
Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.