Morris's film 'Four Lions' is a perfectly executed tale of idiocy and extremism that delivers in all aspects of filmmaking and bravely satirises those society fears most.
Last night I returned to Chris Morris’s 2010 movie ‘Four Lions’. In the film, we follow a group of radicalised Jihadi terrorists from Sheffield. They are Omar (Riz Ahmed) who is deeply critical of Western society, his idiotic cousin Waj (Kayvan Novak), Barry (Nigel Lindsay) a rash white convert to Islam, the dim-witted Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) and the reluctant Hassan (Archer Ali). During the film, we watch this domestic terror cell plot, and attempt to execute, a plan to bomb the London Marathon.
Whilst tackling controversial issues, this film does more to attack and belittle religious extremism than any of the well-meaning words spoken by politicians following terrorist attacks. By portraying terrorists in a comedic manner, this film does it upmost to promote the message that we should not let terrorists win and live in fear of them. Far from being the ideologically focused, terrifying, organized revolutionaries much of traditional media portrays extremists to be, we hear our blunderingly idiotic and delusional protagonists envisage heaven as being like the rubber-dinghy rapids at Alton Towers, see them accidently destroy their own training camp by aiming the wrong end of a rocket launcher at an American drone and watch them attempt to use crows to deliver bombs. This group of fools gives audiences an insight into the true face of terror- average people with lives like ours, led astray by radicalisation.
Despite 'Four Lions' being Morris's directorial debut, his use of camerawork is exemplary. Borrowing from his former ‘The Day Today’ collaborator Armando Iannucci’s political sit-com ‘The Thick of It’, Morris utilises a shaky, documentary-like directorial style throughout. This gives the film a continuous un-professional tone whilst also chillingly reminding the audience of the shaky footage often shown on the news following terrorist attacks; once again highlighting the film’s dark comedic contrast of idiocy and extremism.
Credit also be given to Morris and his co-writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain (writers of the Channel 4 Sit-Com 'Peep Show'). The dialogue throughout is continually razor-sharp and hilarious, creating an incredibly dark tone for the entire film. Much of the film's humour originates from the almost nihilist outlook the script takes and the juxtaposition of genuine terrorism and horrific anti-Western ideologies with somewhat likeable, albeit misguided, characters and their various flaws, exploiting the audience's moral compass to comic effect. Whilst the characters and their views are abhorrent, we can't help but laugh when Barry warns Hassan that 'Islam is cracking up. We got women talking back! We got people playing stringed instruments! It's the end of days'.
Whilst being equally offensive and funny; the film 'Four Lions' is, in all aspects of filmmaking, an undeniably brilliant production.
