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.

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.

I am just back from the first public showing of this movie in the UK at the Cameo Edinburgh. This was billed as having a Q&A session with Chris Morris, usually this means the director is in London and its a satellite link up but no, he was actually here. My initial thoughts about the film was that its a very funny in a similar vein to Four Lions, its about inept would be terrorists and the authorities on their tail. The spin with this movie is that the FBI are out to entrap and this time its black Muslims in the vein of the 5% nation or nation of Islam. The main reason this does not feel as impactful is that the terrorist events which informed four lions are somewhat in the past. Four lions felt very immediate as there was a perception these events could happen anytime. With the war on terror on American soil now wound down, The Day Shall Come does not have the same weight. Its masterfully written and hysterically funny in parts however the premise that the FBI/authorities are as inept and that they only arrest and convict innocents will not go down well in some places. The fact that the terror threat has greatly reduced hints that they must be doing something right? And that is the main difficulty of the film. The fact that the war of terror strategy has worked not only counters the narrative of the film, the reduced threat means its no longer as current as Four Lions was. The cast and directing are excellent as is the dialogue and there are many shockingly great twists. It does feel an odd choice to use the black Muslim movement as a focus for the movie, I will be watching with interest how they respond to it. As for the Q&A with Chris Morris? There werent many questions from the audience as people seemed a bit intimidated by his intelligence. He did go on to explain his research suggested the FBI were the biggest "recruiter" of terrorists and explained how. I feel he will be doing alot of explaining once this hits the theatres. Highly recommended although thankfully things have moved on since Four Lions, which is surely a good thing.

I had been looking forward to this film forever as four lions is possibly my favourite film of all time and still has me roaring with laughter after multiple views. However where four lions got things right this film misses the mark and didn't even bring the smallest of chuckles from me at any point a remarkably average film and just not funny enough for a supposed comedy.

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!