Review: Four Lions

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Four Lions

With his Drafthouse Films' first release, Tim League is taking a sizable risk, one that will hopefully pay off. Exploding onto U.S. screens in several cities this weekend (including Austin, of course), Four Lions takes dark comedy to new levels as it tells the story of a ragtag group of Muslims who have self-organized into a jihadist cell. Written and directed by Chris Morris, the film opened to moderate success in the UK this summer.

While the movie has received critical acclaim (Four Lions was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and has just received five BIFA nominations), the real test for the film will be how it is received by American audiences. The arthouse crowd is well acclimated to British comedy, but with the exception of Monty Python, Britcom appeals to a soberingly small section of the U.S. public, so Four Lions will have to fight an uphill battle to fill the seats. A U.S. tour by Tim League, Bad Ass Digest chief editor Devin Faraci, and Chris Morris, as well as a "Twitter bomb" and great word-of-mouth publicity, should help.

Rather than risk spoiling any of the film's best gags, I'll let Morris' own words set expectations: "You don’t have to mock Islamic beliefs to make a joke out of someone who wants to run the world under sharia law but can’t apply it in his own home because his wife won’t let him. About someone buying bomb making materials and then forgetting how to make a bomb. About someone performing elaborate 'anti-surveillance' techniques including running in circles and wearing a cowboy hat -- in full sight of two surveillance teams. Or indeed about an intelligence officer setting up a surveillance station in the boot of a car -- which is then jacked by joy riders."

While Morris cites as his inspiration a real-life incident in which a terrorist boat sank under the weight of explosives, one has to suspend disbelief just a bit to enjoy everything Four Lions has to offer. His attempt to remain completely neutral in portraying the Muslim faith results in characters whose motivations are unclear. They want to "strike a blow" and martyr themselves for their own personal jihads, but they never demonstrate any personal faith. Except for the brother of the group's leader, each of the characters is misguided, selfish and/or painfully stupid. Morris sets them up to smash together, driven by their egos and bumbling through their attempts at terror without ever really seeming to know what they're doing or even exactly why they're doing it.

Four Lions is never dull and definitely earns a few chuckles, but often is so dark and unsettling, it doesn't feel quite right to laugh at some of the most important moments. Generally, the humor is unsophisticated and heavy-handed (dumb characters doing dumb things in obvious ways) and probably a lot easier to enjoy when drunk. One might say the joke is on the audience; even as characters grow on us, they meet startling and upsetting fates, and there is no cliched Hollywood resolution to the underlying redemptive plot (no fairytale endings allowed!). Still, if you go with the flow and turn off the analytical part of the mind, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride, Four Lions will be a rewarding experience. Just try not to take anything too seriously.