Review of Four Lions (2010) by Aditya M — 19 Jul 2015

There's a telling moment in Chris Morris' scathing satire of radical Islamists: Omar, the smartest member of a group of eager but profoundly dim-witted British self-proclaimed, anti-Western jihadists, is walking through a park when he sees his moderate Muslim brother playing football with his friends.

He asks Omar to join their community, but Omar merely responds with disdainful remarks. Is he angry that his brother is not a "true" muslim because he's not willing to blow himself up? Or is he jealous that his brother is evidently contented with his life without jihad? This moment perfectly exemplifies one of the film's greatest strengths: its politics are never that clear, without ever blaming either the doctrine of Islam or just the depravity of human mind as for why religious terrorists do what they do.

Radical Islam has always been controversial topic (right now more than ever), but Morris is smart enough to never let his film tilt on either side of the debate. Four Lions is an outrageously funny and absurd comedy with just the right dose of humanity amidst all the dark comedy, with fantastic performances from the cast, especially Nigel Lindsay and Kayvan Novak.

Only towards the end the laughter gets stuck in the viewer's throat, as the film becomes also a sad reminder of an alarming fact: that real people really do these things, in the real world.