The Day Shall Come

"Based on a hundred true stories," as the title card reads, Morris' second feature finds the darkest humour in the most lunatic home truths. Examining how the FBI were out to lure antiAmerican groups into acts of terrorism to stop them being terrorists, the Miami-set story sees a field office train its sights on a revolutionary named Moses Al Shabaz (Marchánt Davis). Leader of the skeletal Star of Six, Moses is out to save AfricanAmerican communities, even banning guns from his group. But he's mentally troubled, believing God and Satan talk to him via a duck. It's when FBI agents try to entrap him via a snitch (Kayvan Novak) and turn him into an arms dealer that the farce really kicks in, like a Dr. Strangelove for the 21st Century. Morris and co-writer Jesse Armstrong set up the FBI - with the exception of Anna Kendrick's G-Woman Kendra - as clownish, somewhat softening the intended blows. The satire doesn't quite hit as hard as earlier Morris projects, nor is it as funny. But it's still brimming with ideas and, in his first feature-length role, the charismatic Davis is a real find.

Satires are most powerful when the jokes ring so true that you find yourself laughing at the absurdity of our world and not just the jokes. In this regard, this film soars!

We often see this type of misfire in horror (an horror movie that takes itself seriously but would have done better by embracing its absurdity or the opposite, a movie that jokes which kills the much needed tension.)

I will not spoil anything, but I believe there was something in this movie, something under the absurdity and a story to tell. Anna Kendrick did a wonderful job as usual, she is just a gem. But point remains that this movie hesitated before the jump and fell in-between. A good comedy of that genre requires one of the two, someone who takes things seriously while others don't, or someone who doesn't take things seriously while others do. We need a contrast, this movie should have been more grounded.

It's funny, it's good, but it could have had an 8 out of 10. I give it the 8 out of 10 because I am pretty sure most people won't discuss the potential it had on here and just bash.

Again, there is something in this movie, it's just not fleshed out properly.

The Day Shall Come has a lot of interesting ideas going for it, and the first half hour of the movie is great, but unfortunately it does not manage to develop into anything interesting. The protagonists family and friends are a charming bunch but unfortunately they are 2-dimensional props in the universe. The drama between them feels too hastily executed and forced. Despite the potential for more their relationships never seem develop in any significant way. The premise is strong, but the absurdity and incompetence of both the government agencies and the protagonist makes it hard to get invested in the problem. What bothered me the most was the story featured several themes that I didn't think added anything substantial to the story or could have been used better. Especially the story around the crane felt like a missed opportunity to keep the misunderstandings rolling.

All in all it felt like a four lions knock off. It had a few laughs, but wasn't nearly as funny.

I'm a huge fan of Chris Morris. Ever since stumbling on The Day Today one evening on BBC 2, I've found his output to be pretty much spot on. Four Lions is easily one of my favourite films, and Brass Eye is one of the few perfect comedy series I've ever seen.

With that said, The Day Shall Come is less of an outright comedy than Four Lions, and may alienate some fans due to the American setting, mostly unknown cast, and relatively stripped back levels of humour. Does that mean it's not a good film? Absolutely not. Does it mean that anyone who expected an out and out comedy in the vein of FL will go away disappointed? Quite possibly, and I'd wager that the lower scores on here are testament to that.

On the whole, the cast do a great job. Moses is an inherently likeable character, and for that reason I found myself rooting for him a fair bit. His wife was played in a similarly loveable manner, and the two of them had a great deal of chemistry.

Anna Kendrick (of whom I'm not really a fan) has some great lines and is very believable as an FBI agent with one eye on career advancement and the other on, you know, functioning like an actual human being.

The rest of the supporting cast are all perfectly fine, with nothing really standing out as bad to me at least.

Where the film really shines is in the dialogue however. I won't quote it here, but there's one line about a toy weapon that made me howl, and another gag about mangos which had me chuckling after the movie was done.

In all, it's a good comedy and a superb satire, but recalibrate your expectations accordingly. This isn't a British film, it's an American one with some excellent writing from a British national treasure. Go in with as little foreknowledge as possible and you'll enjoy it. Just don't expect another Four Lions.