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Benedict Arnold: A Question Of Honor

2003, Movie, NR, 100 mins

Benedict Arnold: A Question Of Honor: Review

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This waxworks spectacle unfolds like a grade-school history pageant. Though Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold (Aidan Quinn) is the most daring officer in the Continental Army, he doesn’t receive compensation commensurate with his achievements. Not only does the 1776 Congress drag its feet about his salary, but its members credit ineffectual General Gates (Michael Grennell) with Arnold’s strategic and hard-won victory at Saratoga. Having spent his childhood as an indentured servant, self-made Arnold can’t get the taste of sour grapes out of his mouth. Devoted to George Washington (Kelsey Grammer), Arnold tries to accommodate his leader’s wishes. But Washington must contend with back-biting politicians like Joseph Reed (Stephen Hogan), who are trying to undermine Washington's power-base for their own reasons. Because Washington trusts Arnold implicitly, he appoints him Military Governor of Philadelphia. Once there, Arnold courts and weds Crown loyalist Peggy Shippen (Flora Montgomery), who never misses an opportunity to point out the injustices he's endured. Warding off gangrene from old battle wounds and facing bankruptcy, Arnold starts to look out for number one. Shippen introduces Arnold to her English military associates and persuades her embittered spouse to accept a key position at West Point. As he plans to commit treason, Arnold invites Washington for a tete-a-tete. But Washington's army arrests Shippen's connection, Major John Andre (John Light), the jig is up. Though stung by Arnold's betrayal, Washington survives to become his new country's first president, while Arnold slinks off to England, where he lives almost two more decades as a pariah. Despite the realistic physical production, Mikael Salomon's stuffy docudrama is hobbled by William Mastrosimone's teleplay, which offers a sympathetic account of the reason's behind Arnold's legendary act of treason but is riddled with florid dialogue. The performances seldom rise above the level of Mastrosimone's writing. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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