SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board / Movie, Television and DVD Reviews / Four Lions
Posted by: Murphy (Guest), November 4th, 2010, 1:10pm
Am surprised this has not been given a mention already, But seen as it is released in the U.S. today (limited release) I thought it would be a good time.
Four Lions is the funniest film I have seen this year and also one of the most hardest hitting. It is the debut feature from writer/director Chris Morris, a guy better known in the UK for a TV show he once did called Brass Eye, a fake news show which always seem to cause controversy. He has never been afraid to tackle the hardest of subjects and find humour in them. His own brand of comedy, which he says is not satire, is to get to the very basic spine of his subjects and reveal the contradiction and humour already present.
It is a film about a group of British Muslims who get the call to go to Pakistan to train at a terrorist training camp and then come home to launch a bombing campaign in the UK. Morris's take on this is that these kids are no different from any kids in the world, just stupid, irresponsible idiots, only these particular idiots have been brainwashed into believing they are doing God's work.
It really is a great film. As suggested by the trailer there is some good comedy moments, but the trailer misses out many of the other, more serious moments, which really hit home. The final scene is quite simply the work of a genius. I was laughing right at the end, and then stopped and realised what it was I was laughing at. Sad and Mad, but highly enjoyable. Check it out.
Posted by: JonnyBoy, November 4th, 2010, 1:17pm; Reply: 1
Excellent, excellent film. Darkly hilarious, but also gives an insight into a mindset that is so completely inexplicable and yet exists right here among us, It's also, particularly as you say at the end, heart-stoppingly tragic in places.
One of the best films I've seen this year.
Posted by: Murphy (Guest), November 5th, 2010, 5:39pm; Reply: 2
Posted by: Andrew, January 10th, 2011, 4:21pm; Reply: 3
Sometimes, in amongst the laughter, we forget the ability of comedy to move or touch us profoundly and powerfully. 'Four Lions' is an example of such comedy.
This is an incredibly funny, sad and powerful film. It doesn't just tell the story of 5 idiots acting on misguided logic, it also touches on the power of propaganda and its influence on, as Murphy says: "stupid, irresponsible idiots, only these particular idiots have been brainwashed into believing they are doing God's work." What has happened to Murphy?
As the others have said, there is such poignant commentary here that it stabs you in the heart as you assess the wreckage that occurs in this unique, brilliant film.