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In a world where great performances often take the backseat to the special effects extravaganzas churned out weekly by cash-driven Hollywood maelstroms, it's refreshing to see an actor like Om Puri. Here is a man who remains completely untouched by the money fueled excesses of the American film industry; a man who is completely dedicated to his craft. Here is a man who doesn't care about test audiences, about computer generated effects or about opening weekends. Puri is a wholly pure actor, and maybe that's why his performance in Udayan Prasad's "My Son The Fanatic" has more edge, personality and brilliance than anything to which the American public is accustomed.
Puri plays Parvez, an eccentric Pakistani cab driver living in Bradford, England with his wife (Gopi Desai) and son, Farid (Akbar Kurtha). Parvez has cultivated his family in the British state of mind, disregarding any remnants of his old culture. Thus, when Farid breaks off his marriage with the local police chief's daughter and embraces Islam, Parvez is bewildered and upset, and finds comfort in the arms of Bettina (Rachel Griffiths), a local prostitute. The film centers around Parvez's moral dilemmas regarding loyalty to his wife, as well as his willingness to accept Farid's newfound religious ideals.

Puri plays Parvez with a kind of moral ambiguity and foreign eccentricity few other actors could have brought to the role. He turns the character into something we see very rarely in films today: a real person. Parvez is funny, sad and most of all, flawed. He is the man walking along the street when you look out the window, complete with weaknesses and moral faults. Puri turns in a performance of rare warmth, poignancy and subdued virtuosity.

The other performances are also quite notable. Griffiths's tough Bettina is a melting pot of contradictions: all at once tough and shockingly meek; self sufficient and reliant on others. Stellan Skarsgard has great fun in the role of a free-wheeling German businessman with a penchant for the seedier side of life.

From a artistic perspective, "My Son The Fanatic" is beautifully crafted. Udayan Prasad does a wonderful job directing his fine cast, and director of photography Alan Almond brings beauty to the celluloid, washing the film in gorgeous red hues.

The one problem the picture has, besides the slightly underwritten relationship between Parvez and his family, is its obvious disdain for Islamic fundamentalism and its teachings. Though religion does often have the tendency to cause hardship and problems, it is primarily out there, when stripped down to its bare bones, to make the world a better place. Writer Hanif Kureishi never allows for any insight into what good this devout group is trying to accomplish, or, for that matter, what the actual Islamic religion is all about. Kureishi merely paints the group of modern day missionaries as a misled, brainwashed band of fanatics who thrive off brutality. It is disappointing to see that themes of prejudice still lurk just under the surface of the art that we create, and it is especially disappointing to find these themes in an otherwise excellent film like "My Son The Fanatic."

My Son The Fanatic
Miramax Films

Directed by Udayan Prasad

Rated R

Reviewed by Matt Portenoy


		In a world where great performances often take the backseat to the special effects extravaganzas churned out weekly by cash-driven Hollywood maelstroms, it's refreshing to see an actor like Om Puri. Here is a man who remains completely untouched by the money fueled excesses of the American film industry; a man who is completely dedicated to his craft. Here is a man who doesn't care about test audiences, about computer generated effects or about opening weekends. Puri is a wholly pure actor, and maybe that's why his performance in Udayan Prasad's "My Son The Fanatic" has more edge, personality and brilliance than anything to which the American public is accustomed. Puri plays Parvez, an eccentric Pakistani cab driver living in Bradford, England with his wife (Gopi Desai) and son, Farid (Akbar Kurtha). Parvez has cultivated his family in the British state of mind, disregarding any remnants of his old culture. Thus, when Farid breaks off his marriage with the local police chief's daughter and embraces Islam, Parvez is bewildered and upset, and finds comfort in the arms of Bettina (Rachel Griffiths), a local prostitute. The film centers around Parvez's moral dilemmas regarding loyalty to his wife, as well as his willingness to accept Farid's newfound religious ideals. Puri plays Parvez with a kind of moral ambiguity and foreign eccentricity few other actors could have brought to the role. He turns the character into something we see very rarely in films today: a real person. Parvez is funny, sad and most of all, flawed. He is the man walking along the street when you look out the window, complete with weaknesses and moral faults. Puri turns in a performance of rare warmth, poignancy and subdued virtuosity. The other performances are also quite notable. Griffiths's tough Bettina is a melting pot of contradictions: all at once tough and shockingly meek; self sufficient and reliant on others. Stellan Skarsgard has great fun in the role of a free-wheeling German businessman with a penchant for the seedier side of life. From a artistic perspective, "My Son The Fanatic" is beautifully crafted. Udayan Prasad does a wonderful job directing his fine cast, and director of photography Alan Almond brings beauty to the celluloid, washing the film in gorgeous red hues. The one problem the picture has, besides the slightly underwritten relationship between Parvez and his family, is its obvious disdain for Islamic fundamentalism and its teachings. Though religion does often have the tendency to cause hardship and problems, it is primarily out there, when stripped down to its bare bones, to make the world a better place. Writer Hanif Kureishi never allows for any insight into what good this devout group is trying to accomplish, or, for that matter, what the actual Islamic religion is all about. Kureishi merely paints the group of modern day missionaries as a misled, brainwashed band of fanatics who thrive off brutality. It is disappointing to see that themes of prejudice still lurk just under the surface of the art that we create, and it is especially disappointing to find these themes in an otherwise excellent film like "My Son The Fanatic."

				My Son The Fanatic Miramax Films Directed by Udayan Prasad Rated R Reviewed by Matt Portenoy