The statistics for honour killings in the UK makes for a disquieting read. The idea that so many people are murdered for bringing shame upon their family or community, most of which are women, and predominantly for cultural and religious reasons, is inconceivable. It’s therefore somewhat refreshing to see a filmmaker, in this instance Shan Khan, approach such intriguing, yet mostly untouched cinematic territory. However, this particular endeavour loses its way somewhat, and the more delusory it becomes, the further away from reality we find ourselves.
The victim, in this instance, is the young Mona (Aiysha Hart), who is targeted by her mother (Harvey Virdi) and two brothers, Kasim (Faraz Ayub) and Adel (Shubham Saraf), when they learn of her intentions to run away with her boyfriend Tanvir (Nikesh Patel). Desperately wishing to avoid the shame and dishonour that comes with such an act, they plot to murder Mona, which is where a volatile, neo-nazi bounty hunter (Paddy Considine) enters in to proceedings.
When roughly a third of the way through this production, a tangible excitement runs through you, as a rather compelling story is set up, and with an already strong premise – and a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure – Khan has you wrapped around his finger, as the viewer is ready to be taken along this ride. However the execution struggles to match the concept, and the further we progress into this picture, the more illusory it all becomes, and it’s simply unfulfilling in the direction the narrative takes. Khan is attempting too much, and it’s a shortcoming in so many low-budget, independent movies, as directors are hoping to make their mark without the tools to do so, and as such lose sight of the story at hand, and any sense of simplicity. This gets convoluted and unnecessarily perplexing.
The film improves somewhat when Considine enters into the fray, as a quite sublime character actor. He brings this sense of unpredictability to the role, as he is able to take all the warmth from his eyes and play a stone cold killer – something we’ve seen him do before so triumphantly. However, there’s a frustrating attempt to humanise this fascist murderer, and allow for us to find empathy for him. While this can often be an effective technique, in this instance it feels contrived, and we simply don’t adhere to the drastic changes to the man’s whole demeanour and overall perspective of life. Considine may be a fine actor, but in this instance, he’s dealing with a mediocre screenplay, and poorly-crafted character.
There is a lot to be admired about this picture, and it sheds some light into a world that exists, yet a world that’s remarkably unfathomable and elusive. As a result, we leave the cinema feeling somewhat clued up about the monstrosities that exist, and dutifully aware of the barbaric nature of many people – however we don’t leave the cinema feeling like we’ve just sat through a truly accomplished piece of cinema, and unfortunately, in this instance, that’s what matters most.
[Rating:2/5]
