The Infidel

I was a little bit disappointed by this new British comedy film written by David Baddiel. I was hoping for more, but when I think about the film's premise I wonder why I ever thought it could be more than it turned out to be.

The premise is thus: a Muslim man discovers that he is adopted and that his birth parents are Jewish. Queue up plenty of opportunities for gags about bagels, bar mitzvahs, Tottenham Hotspur and how to shrug properly. It's funny in places but loses out as it feels even more contrived than the premise suggests - if that's even possible. The plot revolves around Omid Djalili's son and his efforts to charm a girl who's new step father happens to be a wahabi nutcase. Djalili's character now has to prove how good a Muslim he is (such as reading the Koran and accidentally burning an Israeli-themed skull cap) while at the same time trying to find his Jewish roots.

I was going with it despite the contrivances until the final scene, in which the wahabi nutter is revealed to be something completely ridiculous and our hero is able to win the day. I was even going to overlook the pretty dire acting of Amit Shah, who plays Djalili's son, but that ending has made me feel somewhat ungenerous.

One big plus point was the casting of Richard Schiff (off the West Wing) as the Jewish cabbie who has to teach us about what it means to be Jewish. I guess Baddiel was trying to write a film that was part comedy and part heart-warming tale about two cultures that aren't really that different. In the end I think he's laid the schmaltz on a little too thick and hasn't really had enough of a go at the extremists on either side. I'm now looking forward to 'Four Lions' to really stick it to the jihadist weirdos.