Film
Review: The Day Shall Come
Chris Morris's latest film might have its heart in the right place, but lacks direction and fails to deliver on an ambitious premise, says Linda Marric
October 11, 2019 10:58
Chris Morris's latest film might have its heart in the right place, but lacks direction and fails to deliver on an ambitious premise, says Linda Marric
October 11, 2019 10:58Back in 2010, satirist and The Day Today creator Chris Morris shocked the world with his topical dark comedy Four Lions, a brave commentary on the UK’s war on terror.
Nine years later, Morris returns with another film on the subject, this time moving the action stateside in the well-meaning, yet decidedly flawed The Day Shall Come.
Starring newcomer Marchánt Davis, the film is written by Morris in collaboration with prolific comedy writer Jesse Armstrong (Four Lions, The Thick of It, In The Loop) as well as Sean Gray (HBO’S Veep) and Tony Roach (The Thick Of It).
Moses Al Shabazz (Davis) is a hapless and deeply delusional Miami based local preacher with a mission to start a war against injustice in his community. When he is wrongly mistaken by an overzealous FBI agent (Anna Kendrick) of being a real homeland threat, Moses - who has been saddled by an insurmountable amount of debt - is then coerced into accepting cash from an undercover informant posing as an Islamist warlord.
Deserted by his wife Venue (Danielle Brooks) who wants no part in the deal, Moses is soon caught in a web of deceit and double-crossings from all side, eventually finding himself is a surreal stand-off with the police and the FBI.
Morris offers a strangely underwhelming production for someone who has spent most of his career getting it right, be on the small screen or in his more recent foray into cinema.
Offering a story which is unfortunately hugely lacking in coherence, the usually on-point writer here appears to be rehashing his Four Lions script, albeit with fewer laughs.
Sadly for all involved, The Day Shall Come is ultimately let down by a storyline which, more often than not, seems to be too concerned with the minutiae of the operation to see the bigger picture.
And while nobody can deny that there are some great performances, notably courtesy of Davis - a true revelation - and Brooks (Orange Is The New Black), the film often feels like a series of comedy skits joined together by a decidedly predictable plot.
The Day Shall Come might have its heart in the right place for the most part, but on the whole this production seems lacking in direction and fails to fully deliver on an otherwise ambitious premise.
The Day Shall Come is in cinemas from October 11.