Features > Movie Reviews > The Infidel…

Religion doesn’t often have people rolling in the aisles. Not filmically, at any rate. So far in this country, satirical skewering has been mostly pointed at the Christian church; partly because the UK is still (just about) regarded as Christendom, and partly because they tend not to get too aggro about it. And are duty-bound to forgive anyway.

So fair play to Baddiel for bouncing his Brit-com slap-bang between the Muslim and Jewish faiths. It’s reasonably uncharted territory for comedy films, but writer and long-time footie fan Baddiel remains, to date, thankfully fatwa-free. 

Stalwart of the stand-up circuit Omid Djalili plays Mahmud Nasir, an anglicised Pakistani minicab driver who’s more Londoner than anything else, and who supports Spurs (this last part doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person). He’s a decent bloke, in fact: a loving husband to Saamiya (Archie Panjabi) and a good dad to Rashid (Amit Shah).

But there’s the first problem. Rashid wants to marry the lovely Uzma (Soraya Radford), but requires the blessing of her new step-father, a hardline Muslim cleric who must vet Rashid’s family. So can Mahmud – who has, at best, a rather relaxed relationship with his religion – well… Muslim-it-up a bit? Sure he can! No worries, my son!

Time for the second problem, a life-sized curveball to properly knock Mahmud off his axis. Sorting through his recently-passed mother’s house, he discovers adoption papers. A fractious run-in with Miranda Hart (TV’s Not Going Out, Miranda) at the adoption agency reveals the truth: Mahmud Nasir was born Solly Shimshillewitz. Oy! and, while you’re at it, vey!

As Mahmud/Solly wrestles with this revelation, he discovers his birth dad might still be alive, albeit ailing fast in an old people’s home. And the only way protective Rabbi Matt Lucas (yep, from Little Britain) will let Solly in is if he can – well… Jew-it-up a bit. You can see where this is going – comic, cockamamie complications ensue.

But Baddiel is as interested in issues of culture, identity and (in)tolerance as he is in broad gags, slapstick and farce. So while he serves up a modest Bar Mitzvah of the latter, there’s a light yet distinct exploration of how Mahmud’s self-perception shifts when the rug of personal heritage is tugged from beneath him.

Djalili is an amiable, amusing guide through this minefield of social expectation and cultural conflict, much of which he’s wrangling with internally. It’s a fair question: in the confused melting pot of present-day Britain, and even more so in cities like London, how much is our identity defined by our history, our family, our lifestyle, our immediate geography…?

Baddiel’s pen makes gentler strokes that the satirical broadsword of, say, Chris Morris (Four Lions springs obviously to mind), so there are few shock tactics here, but it’s unafraid to poke fun, and offers several laugh-out-loud moments.

Not least when Richard Schiff (Toby from The West Wing) appears as a bolshy, often sozzled cabbie, and the only Jew Mahmud knows. Schiff’s comic timing and naturalistic acting raises the bar, and the odd-couple friction he creates with Djalili makes for the film’s most effective scenes.

Slipping a sly thought-provoker or two beneath the surface, The Infidel is a religious comedy that doesn’t forget to bring the funny, with a home-grown, indie flavour that’s more cheerful and cheeky than offensive and outrageous.