Review of The Infidel (2010) by Dougal S — 23 Jan 2012

A film I came across by accident (and one I'd never heard of) and it actually turned out to be quite a decent comedy.

Omid Djalili is a Muslim taxi driver, happy with his lot. He's not particularly devout, has a loving family and supports Spurs, but when his son seeks to marry the step-daughter of a powerful cleric he agrees to act more traditionally in order to gain the cleric's approval. Following the death of his mother however, Djalili discovers that not only is he adopted but also that his birth parents were Jewish and that his father is still alive! Desperate to make contact with his relative he tries to discover his Jewish side with the help of a drunken Jewish fellow taxi (The West Wing's Richard Schiff) but trying to live two separate lives and follow two cultures is bound to take it's toll eventually!

Everything about this film should be terrible but it actually succeeds in spite of itself, tapping into the traditional comedy of an English farce as Djalili goes to ever increasing lengths to try and keep his two lives separate only to see them eventually come crashing down around his ears. There's the obvious message that we're not that different underneath and shouldn't we all get along but thankfully it's not overplayed and the script pokes gentle fun at both cultures and their absurdities (along with English culture as well). Richard Schiff is also superb as a bumbling drunkard who has little interest in his own culture unless he can use it to his advantage as he pushes Dajlili towards the inevitable chaotic conclusion of his actions.

An amiable and at times laugh out loud funny film that rises above it's political message and succeeds in just being fun.