People familiar with Chris Morris' early work, from Jam to Brass Eye, will not be surprised to hear that his feature debut is a darker than black comedy focusing on the madness of humanity. However, few could have predicted the film would be quite as brave as this; following a group of radicalised Jihadi terrorists (from Sheffield) as they attempt to blow themselves up for Islam.
Shot in an almost documentary/fly-on-the-wall style that recalls the excellent BBC2 comedy The Thick of It, Four Lions feels very personal, as we spend time with these confused individuals and, yes, begin to like them. Omar is the most identifiable character out of the five would-be terrorists, which is ironic because he is also the most driven to commit the terrible act. As the film progress, we follow Omar and his ever trusting but dim-witted friend Waj, as they go to Pakistan to make a name for themselves in a terrorist training camp (this, it has to be said, quite literally backfires). We also witness the volatile Barry, a convert to Islam, as he attempts to train the timid Faisal and newcomer Hassan. While Barry is certainly no genius, we do at times enjoy his exasperation as Faisal, a man who trains crows to be bombers, buys hundreds of bottles of bleach from the local corner shop, or the nervous Hassan raps about his jihad much to everyone else's confusion.
Despite the comedy element of Four Lions, it is still a film that understands, better than any other terrorist themed movie, what drives these people to do what they do. While bigger, perhaps more critically acclaimed- films are happy to take George Bush's insightful view on what motivates a fundamentalist (that they are all friends of Satan), Four Lions offers us something that may seem strange but is ultimately rewarding; it humanises them.
Now, it must be emphasised that by humanising the Terrorists, Chris Morris has not only made them all the more terrifying but also celebrates that one aspect of humanity that each and every one of us share, no matter what creed or culture we come from: stupidity. During the three years Chris Morris spent researching the project, he came across countless true stories that are so absurd and mind-numbingly dumb that they could easily have been in the film. The fact that the Terrorists are from Britain has a particular poignancy; the film deals with the issue that these people aren't just men in masks, they're British, as Morris says "They're part of the landscape", it's not as simple as black and white, or good and evil.
Omar has a loving wife and an awed, bright eyed little boy, a family that he loves and who support his war on the Western world. These moments of tenderness and humanity only showcase how confused and misled Omar and his friends are. By the end of the film there are moments of real tragedy, albeit with a kind of gallows humour, as the group begin to realise just how confused they really are about they're ideals, about right and wrong and the reasons for why they do what they do. Four Lions is a film that parodies terrorism in the same way Dads Army parodies the Nazis, in a kind of fairy tale moral; we need to laugh at the terror to vanquish it. But in creating a comedy that actually understands the humanity and stupidity in Terrorism, Chris Morris has made a film that is as meaningful as it is funny.
Shot in an almost documentary/fly-on-the-wall style that recalls the excellent BBC2 comedy The Thick of It, Four Lions feels very personal, as we spend time with these confused individuals and, yes, begin to like them. Omar is the most identifiable character out of the five would-be terrorists, which is ironic because he is also the most driven to commit the terrible act. As the film progress, we follow Omar and his ever trusting but dim-witted friend Waj, as they go to Pakistan to make a name for themselves in a terrorist training camp (this, it has to be said, quite literally backfires). We also witness the volatile Barry, a convert to Islam, as he attempts to train the timid Faisal and newcomer Hassan. While Barry is certainly no genius, we do at times enjoy his exasperation as Faisal, a man who trains crows to be bombers, buys hundreds of bottles of bleach from the local corner shop, or the nervous Hassan raps about his jihad much to everyone else's confusion.
Despite the comedy element of Four Lions, it is still a film that understands, better than any other terrorist themed movie, what drives these people to do what they do. While bigger, perhaps more critically acclaimed- films are happy to take George Bush's insightful view on what motivates a fundamentalist (that they are all friends of Satan), Four Lions offers us something that may seem strange but is ultimately rewarding; it humanises them.
Now, it must be emphasised that by humanising the Terrorists, Chris Morris has not only made them all the more terrifying but also celebrates that one aspect of humanity that each and every one of us share, no matter what creed or culture we come from: stupidity. During the three years Chris Morris spent researching the project, he came across countless true stories that are so absurd and mind-numbingly dumb that they could easily have been in the film. The fact that the Terrorists are from Britain has a particular poignancy; the film deals with the issue that these people aren't just men in masks, they're British, as Morris says "They're part of the landscape", it's not as simple as black and white, or good and evil.
Omar has a loving wife and an awed, bright eyed little boy, a family that he loves and who support his war on the Western world. These moments of tenderness and humanity only showcase how confused and misled Omar and his friends are. By the end of the film there are moments of real tragedy, albeit with a kind of gallows humour, as the group begin to realise just how confused they really are about they're ideals, about right and wrong and the reasons for why they do what they do. Four Lions is a film that parodies terrorism in the same way Dads Army parodies the Nazis, in a kind of fairy tale moral; we need to laugh at the terror to vanquish it. But in creating a comedy that actually understands the humanity and stupidity in Terrorism, Chris Morris has made a film that is as meaningful as it is funny.