FOUR LIONS (2010)

One would think that the decision to explode in a thundercloud of dust and smoke, one’s limbs cascading through the air before hitting the ground with a limp thud, literally ripping apart this vessel for the only aspect of reality we can ever hope to glimpse in this mortal realm, would take a great deal of care before embarking on the journey towards earthly oblivion. Not so for the majority of the boneheads that comprise Four Lions, all of whom are fully committed to the idea of being suicide bombers by the film’s outset. Believing that paradise is waiting just around the corner, as well as feeling disaffected in their everyday lives, these men and their ill-fated activism is the ever-baffling subject of this uproarious satire of Islamic fundamentalism.

Of the group, only Omar (Riz Ahmed) has the slightest bit of sense, but that’s not saying much. His wistful treatises on the need for radical action are half-baked musings whose meaning quickly becomes mired in the examples Omar provides to demonstrate the vacuity of modern life in the Western world. But unlike the rest of his compatriots, he at least has something resembling a point. Omar has looked at the external world, and within himself, and found no worthy replacement for the spiritual void that presents itself in front of him. From here, he decides that the only meaningful form of truth can be derived from radicalism, where he can shield himself from commercialism, celebrity culture, and all the other societal ills he believes are plaguing the Western world.

As for the others —Waj (Kayvan Novak), Barry (Nigel Lindsay), Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), and later Hassan (Arsher Ali) — they’re simply dim. Chris Morris’ film is a hilarious indictment of this motley crew’s collective stupidity, with each of them supplying uniquely essential roles in this wheelhouse of idiocy. Their logic is so humorously inverted that it borders on being farcical, with many of these scenes coming across more as verbal slapstick than searing satire. While the latter is usually more enjoyable since it feels like it’s critiquing ideas instead of exposing plain idiocy, this former quality is key to a film that is devoted to making fun of these radical Islamists, somehow achieving the impossible on this front by courting little to no controversy along the way.

Morris and co-screenwriters Jesse Armstrong (Succession) and Sam Bain (Peep Show) create a wonderful sense of intimacy with these characters. The fly-on-the-wall effect is strong in Four Lions, especially when Omar, our conduit for this world, is present. The comic timing from the actors behind this largely witless group is second to none, yet it’s Ahmed who easily delivers the standout performance. Omar’s beliefs might be contemptible, but his earnestness is strangely compelling, especially given how often viewers will share his frustration with this group. It’s hard not to feel sorry for this decently intelligent man stuck with a group of fools. It’s also surprisingly easy to pity Omar’s reverence towards his approaching act of martyrdom, made even more bitter given Four Lions‘ ironically sweet approach to self-destruction by having this protagonist’s wife Sofia (Preeya Kalidas) and son Mahmood (Mohammad Aqil) support his cause.

This family unit are as sunny and happy-go-lucky as they come, to such an extent that the film’s opening scene makes it seem as though Four Lions is unable to find a way to merge two distinctly different approaches to this narrative. The movie begins with these wannabe terrorists discussing their rationale behind self-destruction in the name of Islam, all of which is dutifully filmed by Barry. Only Omar is capable of speaking anything other than utter rubbish, but even his reflections carry no more than a smidgeon of insight. Then the scene gives way to an interaction in an over-exposed and overly sanitised kitchen, where Omar and Sofia watch the outtakes from these videos together. The cloyingly sweet blandness of this environment is intentional, especially since the washed-out whiteness in Omar and Sofia’s home can also be found in a brief shot of the shopping centre where this protagonist works.

In this case, the absurdity of a husband and wife bonding over these videos is paired with a sickly kind of glow cast over everyday English society, which this protagonist and his cronies resent. But the juxtaposition is mistimed, occurring far too soon into this narrative and producing a rather disorientating effect. Even looking beyond this interaction, Four Lions takes some getting used to, especially when Omar and Waj travel to Pakistan to join an al-Qaeda-affiliated training camp. It feels as if Morris, Armstrong, and Bain have seriously jumped the gun, culling the best part of this bumbling mess by having these characters’ goals be realised so quickly. It ends up being surprisingly easy to claw back this plot’s relevance once we return to England, which, for as much as these radicals decry Western civilisation, is clearly their home.

In fact, compared to his brother Ahmed (Wazim Takir), who’s reluctant to enter a room with Sofia and despises the thought of a woman daring to disagree with him, Omar is rather progressive-minded. Four Lions doesn’t spend too long exploring this sibling dynamic, and for good reason, since the nuances of this relationship and its implications regarding this film’s broader themes are too complex for its harebrained antics. The film’s humour pays off in dividends, with plenty of hilarious one-liners, excellent mockumentary-style comedy, and an endlessly watchable story.

At the same time, even though this subject matter is only briefly touched upon in a semi-serious light, it’s more than a little intriguing. After being explicitly told not to make himself a public figure any longer, Barry opts to be a speaker at a local political conference that turns its focus to Islam, with this gleeful radical making the argument that even if Islamic fundamentalism didn’t exist, innocent Muslims would still be treated as though it’s a pressing issue plaguing their religion. It’s a very funny, revealing way of shifting the blame away from the radicalism that Barry endorses—which he’s trying to keep secret in this context— but even if his logic is flawed, there’s a grain of merit to the sentiment that innocent Muslims are tarred with the same brush as people like him.

This scene takes this a step further when Hassan, the soon-to-be fifth member of the crew, jumps from his seat to announce that he has a bomb, only to deride the crowd for their bigotry in daring to assume that, as a Muslim, he must automatically be telling the truth. Even when these characters stumble across a point that contains moral, philosophical, or geo-political relevance, they quickly find a way to highlight their stupidity once again, losing any semblance of reason they purposely or accidentally touched upon. It’s a predictable format, but it works wonders in this case.

Even still, there’s something distinctly missing here in how Four Lions presents this crew’s affiliation with England and English culture. Sofia and Omar are clearly very Westernised in some respects, while Hassan is possibly the most culturally confused of the group, happily spending his free time dancing along to “Dancing in the Moonlight” with his non-Muslim neighbour. He’s also the most childish, demonstrating his juvenile mindset in thinking that his fatal act of martyrdom will be an appropriate form of revenge towards schoolteachers who thought little of him. His whole world might be wrapped up in Islam, but this form of Islam is also inextricably wrapped up in Britishness. While it briefly touches on them, Four Lions never quite explores these connections, even when it comes so close to teasing them out and showcasing how or why these characters are so unwilling —or unable—to comprehend that they are English through and through. In the end, the most distinctly British aspect of Four Lions is its humour. Thankfully, that makes for one of the most quotable, riotous comedies of the last 15 years.

UK • FRANCE | 2010 | 97 MINUTES | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH • URDU • PUNJABI • ARABIC

Cast & Crew

director: Chris Morris.
writers: Chris Morris, Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong.
starring: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, Arsher Ali, Adeel Akhtar, Preeya Kalidas, Wazim Takir, Mohammad Aqil, Craig Parkinson & Julia Davis.