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Shoot on Sight
When an innocent Muslim man is shot by anti-terrorism officers, Muslim police commander Ali is brought in to lead an 'independent' inquiry
Stop us if you've heard this before: an innocent man, trailed from his place of residence by anti-terrorism officers, heads into a London Underground station and, mistaken for a suicide bomber, is suddenly shot dead. The tube station isn't Stockwell but Charing Cross and the victim isn't a Columbian electrician but a young Muslim listening to an MP-3 player. Gravely invoking both 9/11 and 7/7 during its opening caption, it soon becomes apparent that the only numbers that matter to Shoot On Sight's filmmakers are those affixed with a dollar sign. "This film is a work of fiction based on real events reported in the news media," runs the measly disclaimer which, though satisfying the filmmakers' lawyers, doesn't magically transform the movie; it smells like exploitative trash from the start. And it is. It's a shame because there's a lot to recommend here; a great cast both British (Brian Cox, Greta Scacchi) and Indian (Om Puri and lead Naseeruddin Shah) do their stuff alongside a decent supporting cast (although Sadie Frost's supposedly nippy lawyer is unintentionally hilarious). And it looks great too, working in a washed-out palette that, to begin with at least, announces that this is firmly rooted in the real world. But it's all for nought thanks to a plot that lurches from one contrived and unconvincing scenario to another. An innocent man on the tube isn't enough for the filmmakers; instead we get - take a deep breath - Muslim officer Ali (Naseeruddin Shah) who is brought in to investigate the innocent man's killing while at the same time unwittingly harbouring an Islamic terrorist - his nephew over from Pakistan - who is in league with Ali's childhood friend, now a hate-filled imam. This results in Ali teaming up with the racist cop he's investigating just as his nasty nephew is about to blow up a shopping centre where Ali's wife and children are attending a book signing. A story that would be pushing credulity in a Hollywood action flick really has no place in a serious examination of domestic terrorism. If the plot wasn't enough to break one's suspension of disbelief, it's firmly shattered by existing in a world of fake newspapers - the 'Informer' (for the 'Guardian') and the 'Daily News' ("I wouldn't read that rag!" snarls Brian Cox) plus a fake Premiership footballer and "underwear model" whose book signing somehow only attracts a dozen extras - sorry, fans. And, of course, the elephant in the room is that, at no point, do any of the characters refer to Jean Charles Menezes. Not even a "Not again - have we learnt nothing?!" or a "What were you thinking - didn't you listen to that Israeli security expert who said our shoot on sight policy was more heavy-handed than they use in Gaza?!" The filmmakers might have thought they were being respectful but, instead, by drawing on the Columbian's tragic end but placing it in a faux reality less convincing than 'EastEnders', they have compounded the crime. The film touches on some truly interesting topics but in the most ham-fisted way. Although a British white woman, one could expect Commander Ali's wife (Greta Scacchi) to have maybe picked up something of her husband's culture during their 20 years of marriage; the writer has her apparently oblivious to the fact non-Muslims are not permitted in Mecca. And an exchange between Racist Cop and Ali is similarly ridiculous. "I'm not a racist - I'm a realist! The question isn't: 'are all Muslims terrorists', but 'are all terrorists Muslim?' I think we both know the answer to that!" This sparkling rhetoric is enough to stump Ali; strangely for a senior officer in the Met, he fails to point out that, er, actually, sometimes terrorists are Irish or neo-Nazis or animal activists. Verdict For a far better treatment of similar themes, see the Simon Beaufoy-scripted Yasmin, a low-budget masterpiece. Shoot On Sight, in comparison, is a cynical movie that squanders its talented cast and crew and shames all involved. |
