Four Lions
Superior satirical comedy is very hard to come by – and even harder when it tackles tricky topics like religion, especially fundamentalist Islam in the UK today, a subject so hot that others dare not touch.

Superior satirical comedy is very hard to come by – and even harder when it tackles tricky topics like religion, especially fundamentalist Islam in the UK today, a subject so hot that others dare not touch.

So it is a little surprising to find that the man behind the latest, brilliant British satire Four Lions, about four ‘screw-ups’ and wannabe Jihad martyrs, is none other that one of the most provocative satirists, Chris Morris – he of Brass Eye paedophilia notoriety and more recently The IT Crowd.

Even more surprising is Morris has chosen not to go all out to ‘offend’ (or push the issue in our faces) as he did some in 2001, or even point the finger of blame, but has produced an incredibly touching account that focuses not on the demonising nature perpetuated by the media, but the more immediate, personal struggle of four men who feel outside of the margins of society. And as any expert on home-grown terrorism theory knows, it is not about the abnormality, but the normality of those characters involved that makes addressing it such a difficult matter.

Four Lions demonstrates what good, well-researched comedy is all about. This is the key that helps avoid pitfalls and flippancy. The story is about four Muslim men living in multi-cultural Sheffield – Omar (Riz Ahmed), Waz (Kayvan Novak of Fonejacker, and now Facejacker, fame), Barry (Nigel Lindsay) and Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) – who are nothing special individually, but united feel as though they are doing something with their lives as they plot to bomb the London Marathon. The film explores their howling contradictions, their misplaced camaraderie and their daily struggle with the blackest of humour that results in a hilarious and alarmingly moving piece that stirs pity at the helplessness and alienation of some social groups.

What Four Lions actually avoids is focusing on fundamentalist Islam itself. It is about the intolerance of stupidity, and misguided stupidity at that, but with intriguing sensitivity at how such characters get involved, as well as the power of persuasion and friendship. In fact the only white member of the group, bigoted, tightly-wounded Barry, could be just at home in the BNP as he is at the opposite extreme.

The film has some nice extremes in itself of outright idiocy, coupled with a very real and calculated threat, of capitalist ideals conflicting with basic religious beliefs, and even differing layers of fundamentalist belief, internationally, that make for compelling viewing and post-viewing thought. All of these issues are wrapped up a timely farce that is so utterly daft that it could be dismissed as school-boy humour, if it was not so very immediate. This is what keeps the whole plot fresh, alive and engrossing.

To say that you ‘like’ these four men at the end is not quite true, but you do ‘warm’ to them, so much so that you hope nothing happens to them and that they get a second chance. It’s actually taxing stuff for any civil person to dream of contemplating. This is what makes it some of the best and most original film-making seen in some time.

Morris may well be pushing boundaries but not overtly or without any due care and attention. He demonstrates that he is the master at this genre, creating something both entertaining and significant as an ironically humanist tale – considering it’s about four potential suicide bombers. Four Lions is pure genius and a credit to all the actors involved. Really, do not miss it!