Being a religious extremist is hard work: it requires dedication, blind faith and a fervour that only the mad could summon. Everyone should already be familiar with satirist Chris Morris’ debut feature ‘Four Lions’ which follows the story of five Muslim wannabe terrorists set on blowing up…well, blowing something up.
Much has been made of how hysterically funny Four Lions is – and it is a funny film, but there genuinely sad and poignant moments to be found within the movie, particularly as it reaches its climax. The main cast of Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak and Adeel Akhtar all play their roles with tact and an inert diplomacy.
The film is captured and presented with some truly memorable lines and scenes. Again, though, the word ‘paki’ is used throughout what is essentially a British Asian comedy, and it is to my frustration that this word has yet to be removed from British cinema. I certainly know it would be used within Asian circles but Nigel Lindsay’s character, Barry, is not Asian. Quite why it is acceptable for him to say it, and for him to be included in this way was difficult for me to understand. It’s symptomatic of Brit-Asian comedies and similarly plagued East is East too. This feeling that all British Asians somehow speak like this of ‘them back home’ is loathsome, tired and wrong.
Still, that was the only negative point for me – and it will remain so. Made on a budget of £2.5m, Four Lions is a farcical, well timed dramatic comedy that deserves all the attention it can get. It’s certainly one of the better British films I’ve seen of late. However, if judged on comic merit alone, the film will not have achieved its aim.