A religious comedy?

Introduction

I've watched another film.

I don't really know what's happened this year, but I haven't really had a lot of time to sit down and watch films. I've had plenty of films on in the background whilst doing other things, and I've *seen* quite a lot of films. But I haven't actually sat and *watched* any recently.

Due to some good fortune and some bad weather I actually sat down to watch The Infidel the other night.



Written by David Baddiel and directed by Josh Appignanesi (Song of Songs, Ex Memoria), The Infidel is a comedy centered on Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djalili), a loving husband, doting father, and something of a relaxed Muslim who suddenly discovers that he's adopted. Oh, and he's Jewish.

Mahmud needs help to cope with this discovery. Instead of turning to his family (who are looking to him to show what a devout Muslim he can be), he turns to Jewish cabbie Lenny (Richard Schiff) who he has recently "encountered". Can Lenny help Mahmud come to terms with his new found Jewishness? Can he find his real parents? And how will his existing family cope?

Video

1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that does exactly what it says on the tin.



Except that the review copy had a time code splashed all over it, which just got more and more annoying as the film goes on. Why do film companies still take anti-piracy measures on things sent to reviewers given that pirated copies have probably been available for months already?

Audio

Everything sounds fine. There are no great action set pieces here, so it's not something to impress friends with, just a simple soundtrack with some good songs mixed in.

Extra Features

Can't tell you about them - nothing on the review disc.

Conclusion

"I think that people are terrified about race and religion, especially issues surrounding Muslims and Jews, and when people are terrified, what they really should do is laugh…" - David Baddiel

He's right you know.



Despite being in popular culture for the last 20 years, Baddiel is still known to most people for his "poncy student/graduate comedy" work on The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. He has since written three books, created a radio show, had a number one single (Three Lions) and of course worked with Frank Skinner on football and other projects (also often written off as laddish nonsense). He also writes a column in The Times (as does Skinner coincidentally).

So if you can get past that out-dated image of him, you find an intelligent comedy writer with a funny script that turned into a good little film. And it has modern British pedigree too with cameos from Matt Lucas, David Schneider, Miranda Hart and Paul Kaye to name a few.

It's not a subject that lends itself naturally to comedy, but it's all treated very well and delivered with skill and enthusiasm (particularly by Djalili). Ok, there are some not really required mushy moments, but it essentially achieves its mission to "celebrate religious diversity whilst deriding the Fatwa fanatics that have so often hijacked the headlines". It's not a laugh out loud every minute film, but an amusing comedy that's well worth a look.

Recommended for fans of Baddiel, Djalili and Schiff, and also recommended if you still hold some of those opinions mentioned earlier...