Four Lions

A comedy about suicide bombers sounds like a tough sell by any stretch of the imagination. But when that imagination stems from British satirist Chris Morris, there is some sort of brilliantly bizarre alchemy at work. Morris made a name for himself with such high wire humour; his cult series Brass Eye was all about […]
Alice Tynan
August 19, 2010

Overview

A comedy about suicide bombers sounds like a tough sell by any stretch of the imagination. But when that imagination stems from British satirist Chris Morris, there is some sort of brilliantly bizarre alchemy at work. Morris made a name for himself with such high wire humour; his cult series Brass Eye was all about flaying cultural sacred cows, and his feature debut Four Lions is no different. Taking a motley crew of Sheffield Muslims, Morris sets Omar (Riz Ahmed), Waj (Kayvan Novak), Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) and Barry (Nigel Lindsay) on a sacred mission: to get audiences to chuckle over a jihad.

And chuckle you will, for Morris' screenplay is an appealing mix of witticisms, pitch-black social commentary and dimwit farce. Not all the elements will work for everyone; Omar and Waj bumbling around and wreaking havoc on their terrorist training camp stretches the characters' potential for stupidity a little far, as do some of Waj's more gormless lines. But Morris' precision as co-writer and director finds echoes of Dr. Strangelove, as well as a form of transcendence in the ridiculous.

Ahmed gives a pitch-perfect performance as the group's tenacious leader and the film hits its satirical stride when it ventures into Omar's loving domestic life. And as the wannabe terrorists' manifold idiocy careens towards the climatic, costumed charity race (can you tell the difference between a Wookie and a Honey Bear?) Morris and his cast certainly succeed is in their unerring commitment to seeing the joke through to its bitterly funny and deeply poignant end.

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