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Four Lions Cast: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, Adeel Akhtar Director: Chris Morris In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is disillusioned about the treatment of muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj (Kayvan Novak) has ever heard. Better still it’s a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white islamic convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay). He’d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism - If he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now coz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper”. Instead he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face? |
MonkeyScore: 86% With Four Lions Chris Morris manages to create a genuinely funny comedy based on a tricky subject matter. Whether it does for the British Jihad what Spinal Tap achieved for heavy metal remains to be seen, however. One hope that British muslims see humour in this moving portrait of four men, whose main purpose in life and death is to do Allah's work - albeit in a slightly misguided way. Four Lions shows terrorism seen from the perspective of four wannabe terrorists, and by giving them ordinary lives and personalities brings humanity to their cause. It doesn't make an apology for violence, nor does it condone it: director Chris Morris gives a face to disillusioned men whose only source of hope is their religious beliefs. While Morris liberally pokes fun at the four men, exposing their bigotry and limited brain power, he never makes the audience feel voyeuristic. When simpleton Waj (played superbly by Kayvan Novak) admits 'yeah, I know, I'm thick as fudge' one realises that he may indeed have the IQ of a courgette, but he's aware of it enough to realise that the Jihad offers him a chance at making a contribution. Like most things in life the laughs in Four Lions aren't free: as the Lions face the consequences of their actions, the audience are left with serious questions. Beyond the farce, one must look at what factors may drive young British muslims to feel so excluded from society that they see no other route than violence to get heard and respected. Food for thoughts indeed, with a timely release coinciding with the General Election. Four Lions is one of those rare cinematic gems that manage to generate side-splitting laughs without mocking its main characters. Indeed, the Four Lions are so human that you may never think of terrorism in quite the same way.
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