Four Lions

I remember the first time I saw this film, thinking it was one of the funniest I had ever seen, and I haven't seen many that have made me laugh as much since. Chris Morris is known for black comedy and 'Four Lions' is certainly fantastically dark.

The plot, the characters, the dialogue - everything about the film is funny. The stupidity of the main characters combined with the absurdity of their plans make this a truly hilarious film and a great piece of entertainment.

'Four Lions' is a comedic gem. A rare naturally funny film that is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Chris Morris has never been one to shy away from subjects that others would call taboo or simply just wrong and that isn't going to change with his latest film 'Four Lions' the story of a group of wannabe suicide bombers. Not the most jovial of subjects I hear you cry, but how wrong could you be? For here we have not only a truly funny film but also a poignant one and one of the best British films of the last decade. Meticulous to detail Morris spent over five years researching the films central themes of terrorism and religion and a lifetime of studying human behaviour and it's only with this foundation that he, along with co writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show), could have made such a brilliant film. You will laugh and hard, then you will realise what it is you are laughing at take a breath and then laugh some more. In the same way that the recent American remake of Battlestar Galactica dealt in allegories of the war on terror, politics and human nature but just happened to be set in space 'Four Lions' just happens to be set in a terrorist cell and in his own admission Morris admitted that he wanted to explore group dynamics that could be found either in a football team, a club of sorts or the guys in this movie. It is so cleverly done that at no point is the film patronising or preachy it just makes you think about the absurd nature of how people think and what lengths they will go to for something they believe in. The film also contains some scenes of the gang spending normal time with their families, even discussing their plans with the children and it's in these scenes that we given over to the idea that they are ordinary people about to do something extraordinary. The cast play their roles, not only with great comic timing, but with an understanding of the subject matter that reflects in their performances. The script is so sharp that not only will you miss stuff on first viewing you will be quoting it for months to come. It is well shot and perfectly paced but let's not forget that this is satire of the highest order and in that there will be elements that might not appeal to all. But if you think you can stomach it then let me assure you that you will see one of the funniest films from one of Britain's most underrated and genuinely talented comedians. Rubber dingy rapids.

The film can be approached from two angles; as a comedy and as an important contemporary cultural text. As a comedy it succeeded beyond expectations. Part of the pleasure surely came from the spectacle of the event; a sold out screening with cast and crew present along with regional cultural references that resonated infectiously with many in the audience, but this can take nothing away from the many levels of comedy at work within this film. There were elements of overacted screwball comedy; there were underplayed facial expressions and reactions that added a wealth of character and personality to the comedy; further still, there were elaborately constructed situational set pieces. All these elements along with explosively dynamic dialogue that was well delivered combined to send the audience into tears of laughter.

In a separate issue to the comedy there was the cultural commentary, which is always going to draw attention when it is such a taboo subject as Jihad: a word that is often avoided at all costs. The film unapologetically offers a plethora of questions around motivation, meaning and justification which it never falls into the trap of giving patronizing, melodramatic answers to nor does it preach any solutions.

The many characters were all utilised to give different points of views and different perspectives; the main protagonist Omar (Riz Ahmed) was fully fleshed out, with the other characters used to offer differing ideas and obviously the above mentioned comic relief. Omar's brother for instance had such a minor part but raises questions around what he considers a true following of Islam, which he promotes as peaceful, but is then exposed as intrinsically sexist due to the way he practically locks his wife in a cupboard. That being said, Islam itself was to a large extent sidelined and the film much more overtly dealt with identification and senses of belonging for a demographic that has partial but not complete grips on the many angles of where its identity is created; this includes Barry (Nigel Lindsay), the Caucasian convert amongst the group.

Four Lions is easily funny enough to reach a very wide audience, where viewers will be left without answers and therefore forced to discuss these issues, which are too often brushed under the proverbial rug.

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In the UK, Chris Morris is famous for the very controversial "Brasseye" series, and he has taken that iconoclastic attitude to the big screen to help create this wonderful little film.

It's a crude yet intelligent satire on a group of young men who want to be martyrs for the Islamic Al-Qaeda in the UK. Rather than portray them as dark shadowy men, they are really just everyday bumblers and naive men. The frightening aspect is that despite the humour, they are aiming to mass murder which always is behind the scenes.

The film uses humour to demystify the self-styled jihadists and take away any sort of menacing notoriety and show them as the frightening bunglers that they are. The fear is when one group actually manages to carry out what they set out to do.

This film is worth watching. You will be rolling with laughter, but you will end the film with many thoughts on the questions raised also. It's simply another great bit of political satire, and I recommend it highly.

Like Charlie Chaplin's Hitler, Chris Morris' 'Four Lions' shows that no subject can escape comic scrutiny; humour always seems to find the ability to expose the ridiculous in otherwise appalling situations. This satirical black comedy vents its disgust at the pseudo-morality of suicide bombing, whilst managing to portray its terrorists with an affection that allows the audience an unexpected emotional attachment with these supposed figures of violence.

The film follows a terrorist cell of blundering, inept, and impossibly stupid would-be suicide bombers on their quest towards martyrdom – we follow them failing miserably in a Pakistan training camp, trying to run through sheep fields whilst carrying bags of explosives, attaching bombs to crows, all the time creating a chaotic 'blooper' reel of attempted martyrdom videos. These suicide bombers are not the feared assassins of popular imagination, but absurd and easily led dupes who encourage laughter and ridicule – and significantly, in the end, pity.

The comedy of 'Four Lions' lies in the power of its bathos: the film reduces the dreaded spectre of suicide bombing to a ludicrous pageant of ineptitude. It's a film with fast laughs and dim wit in abundance, an absurd 'How Not-To Guide' to martyrdom.

However, the audience cannot help but feel pity for the characters as their plot reaches its climax. There is a sad inevitability to the group's last moments together; despite the horror of what the bombers are planning, the audience has been lulled into sympathising with their situation. The sadness of the film comes with the audience's realisation that these characters are regular, likable, funny, naive people – they are not monsters in themselves, but made monstrous by their susceptibility to absurd, immoral teachings.

The lead character Omar's interactions with his wife and young son are painful in their twisted depiction of the ideal family unit. At one point Omar (played by Riz Ahmed) tells his son a bedtime story about 'Simba's Jihad'. It is a scene that is touching, funny and uncomfortable all at once, a reflection of our responses to the film as a whole.

'Four Lions' is provocative in its comic parody of an emotional subject, but there is never any sense that it wishes to be deliberately inflammatory. Instead, the story is told with warmth and sharp humour; it offers us a fine concoction of derision and sympathy, pulling at our affections whilst cutting the terrifying down to the clownish.

James Gill ------ Find more reviews, news and previews at www.singleadmission.co.uk