Adapted from the bestselling novel by Mohsin Hamid, Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist tells the story of Changez Khan, a successful pro-America Pakistani analyst on Wall Street, whose life radically changes after 9/11, the effects of which threaten to lead him towards Islamic fundamentalism.
As a standalone film, it as if Nair tries to fit too much of the novel’s plot into the film, and it takes quite a while for things to get running. Though the film starts with a bang – an American journalist is suddenly kidnapped – the next half an hour moves slowly. It follows Changez’s (Riz Ahmed) recounting to reporter Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber).
Riz has an amazing job with a boss (Kiefer Sutherland) that almost instantly has high hopes for him, a kooky loving American girlfriend (Kate Hudson), a flashy lifestyle – almost everything falls into his lap with little effort on his part. Until the inevitable destruction of the twin towers, Changez is faced with hardly any conflict. No conflict, no drama.
What follows is the expected backlash of Islamophobia, as co-workers and strangers all begin to perceive Changez as one of ‘them’. Though some of the scenes are effectively captured, this territory has been well-trodden in British dramas like The Road To Guantanamo and Britz (both coincidentally also starring Riz Ahmed). Indian cinema has also given us insights into the post-9/11 American Muslim experience with My Name Is Khan and New York for example. However, despite tiny story arcs in TV shows like 24 and Homeland, this is the first time that a mainstream American film shows a Muslim point of view of post-9/11 America.
Where Nair succeeds is in the look and the sound of the film. As Changez flits between the distinguishable worlds of New York’s money and sex, and Lahore’s familial duty and religion, production designer Michael Carlin refrains from going extreme on either side, showing both sides neither as black nor white. Neither is the office block that Changez works in large, spotless and magnificent, nor is his Pakistani home lavish or poverty-stricken. Carlin delivers a great balance and an effective international realism, complemented excellently by Michael Andrews’ musical score of Sufi qawalis and subtle soundscapes.
With the additional talents of Kiefer Sutherland and Indian stalwarts Om Puri and Shabana Azmi in tow, Nair has put together quite a cast (including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Chandrachur Singh – whatever happened to him after the 90s?).
However, casting Kate Hudson for the role of Changez’s love interest may have been a misstep. There is hardly any chemistry between the two characters, and there is no reason for the viewer to root for them to be together. Or even any impetus to be apart. Though the Pakistani characters are well drawn out as devout Muslims who also indulge in a spot of alcohol, unfortunately the overnight-racist Americans tend to come across as one-dimensional. The only exception to this is Sutherland’s Gordon Gekko-like boss, who hides a soft spot for Changez behind his steel exterior. The interaction between the two of them is electric.
The ending of the film leaves the viewer with an open-ended question, which unfortunately does not leave as great an emotional impact as it should due to the laborious journey that it has taken to get there. Changez is ultimately a passive protagonist. This does not make for great drama, and it would have been good to at least see him lead the film’s final scenes.
The greatest failing however is that of the structure, with the film using the same narrative device as the novel, as Changez explains to Bobby how he came to be who he is and where he is. The scenes dart between modern day and 2001 too often and uncomfortably jar with one another, pushing the viewer to repeatedly leave one plotline for another and leaving very little in the way of mystery.
From the beginning, we know Changez is going to leave his life in America behind. Whether he has become a fundamentalist or not however remains compelling, but the overall efforts that Nair has taken to ensure that Changez remains a likeable character works against him, not providing him with the depth he deserves for such an important story.
Ultimately, Nair sticking so closely to the novel becomes the film’s weakness. The rule of film is a very different beast to that of novels, and when adapting it is important to remember that at the end of the day… you’re making a film.
The film was screened at the recently concluded BFI London Film Festival.
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British-born, Shai has retained the cultural values passed onto him by his parents. The name may be Muslim, the genes may be Indian, the nationality may be British but Shai believes who you are is more often defined by what you do. Shai is a writer and a DJ. Shai's previous plays include Reality Check, Resolutions, Silver Street (BBC Asian Network) and Til Jihad Do Us Part (BBC Radio 4). He is currently a lead writer on Our Town, a revolutionary social media soap, and is also resident DJ of London clubnights Bombay Funkadelic and The Bollywood Experience.
Peta Jinnath Andersen is a freelance and fiction writer. Born in Sydney, Australia, to a Fiji-Indian father and Scottish mother, she’s a bit confused about her background, but loves it all the same. Currently living in the US, she has just had her first child, and is busy studying hard in an effort to learn more about her Indian heritage – including taking Hindi lessons – so she can teach her son about just what it is that makes an NRI special.
on October 23, 2012
at 4:48 am
Well-written review, Shai.
on October 23, 2012
at 11:57 am
Thanks Shivani
on October 23, 2012
at 9:25 pm
good review. agree that hudson was wrongly cast (without wanting to be cruel, she just looks too old for the part) and also about the ending and american characters. though i think most of that is down to the (interesting but seriously overrated imho) book.
BUT!
i liked the low key docu-ish look mira nair gave the film – it made it seem more subjective, which fits the themes of the novel. and i thought riz ahmed was totally brilliant. one of the performances of the year for me. i hope he wins something.
on October 23, 2012
at 9:31 pm
Hey Feluda – agreed, though he is getting into being roped into dangerous terrorist stereotype roles (though very good terrorist stereotype roles), Riz did a great job.
on October 24, 2012
at 1:06 pm
definitely, as far as typecast terrorists go (im guessing there arent exactly loads of high profile muslim roles that arent about terrorism – it would be good to see him in some other roles, i quite liked him in that dead set zombie show on ch4), hes made them his own.