Life of Brian was controversial in its day but I think the silliness is perfect.
Jojo rabbit dealt with dark subject matter but I thought it thread the needle beautifully.
Four Lions on the other hand whilst it had some fun silly moments, ultimately, for me, it didn’t redeem the dark subject matter.
To delve a little deeper…
The life of Brian established its distance early on. Brian was someone who grew up near Jesus, he was not Jesus and the cracks at Christianity were subtle.
Then even when death came up it was done to the joyful tune of ‘Always look on the bright side of life’.
Jojo rabbit could weave in the silliness because the story was told through the eyes of a naive young boy. Also the setting was the second world war and as the saying goes – all is fair in love and war. The darkness was inescapable in that time.
But Four Lions follows wannabe terrorists wreaking havoc in peaceful England. Whilst there is funny moments it’s hard to overlook the characters’ decision to kill themselves and innocent others unnecessarily.
Others might love it but too dark for my sensibilities at least.
Thomas Duggan 