Layla M. (2016) (Dutch Language)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

110min

Genre:      Drama

Director:   Mijke de Jong

Cast:        Nora El Koussour, Ilias Addab…and more

Writers:    Jan Eilander and Mijke de Jong

-Synopsis-

Living in modern-day Amsterdam, “Layla” is a smart and stubborn but angry and resentful Dutch-born Muslim teenager, whose devotion to Islam puts her on a path towards radicalisation; only for her ideals to be shaken by the harsh realities of religious extremism and a 21st century middle-east, in this bold and timely contemporary drama from writer/director Mijke de Jong.

Tackling some of the most controversial and uncomfortable subjects in modern western living, de Jong applies a dose of honesty and restraint to a narrative which tries to balance an immigrant family drama, with a dramatic expose on the radicalisation of young Muslims in Europe, and the result is a stark and unconventional but resonant coming-of-age story for the 21st century.

In her acting debut, Nora El Koussour holds the film together with her impressive and naturalistic performance as “Layla” herself;  in some ways the typical rebellious headstrong European teenager, but in others a devout and increasingly conservative Muslim, whose extreme views begin to marginalise her in a society already increasingly unwelcoming, which begins to drive her away from a caring family.

When she meets a young man with similar views and convictions, a marriage ensues and the break away from her previous life is complete, turning the story into a road trip movie with a promise of a new life path, inevitably ending up in the Middle-East. But her new life turns out to be quite different to her “idyllic” pious dream, as the reality of her situation as a woman in a man’s world hits home hard, and she struggles to reconcile her 21st century freedoms with a devotion to a religion anchored in the past and inflexible to change.

‘Layla M.’ is very much a modern story; not only in depicting a 21st century clash-of-cultures narrative but putting a woman at the centre of it and weaving in some element of female empowerment, albeit one which is fundamentally challenged by an ideology, all of which makes this to some extent a “feminist” movie or at the very least a female-centric one. And the story is grounded in the reality of increasing numbers of both European-born young Muslim women and native converts being lured abroad by extremism and often becoming “Jihadi brides”.

However its very specific story paradoxically makes ‘Layla M.’ a unique drama but also a limited one; by focusing on “Layla’s” personal journey to extremism and that of the like-minded around her, the film paints a simplistic picture of the radicalisation process, and with its narrow melodramatic focus it completely overlooks the psychological elements that are as crucial as pure blind devotion and belief.

There is very little focus here given to the bridge between people holding extreme beliefs, of which there are many, and actually becoming one of the few who act on them, with no real exploration of personal trauma and the psyche of these people, which are as important a contributing factor to terrorism as belief and religion is, as any expert would tell you.

But the most disappointing thing here is that despite its unique take on a story within an intriguing and timely context, ‘Layla M.’ is ultimately a slightly underwhelming little character drama and unconventional coming-of-age story, which is not exactly gripping and oversimplifies a complex subject, while not really showing the extent of the consequences of extremism and proving a little too subtle for its own good.

It’s a sad state of affairs when any depiction of a religion, both in art and media, could be considered risky enough to be dangerous in modern western culture, but thanks to the cultural shift and global geopolitical turmoil of the last 15 years, that is very much the case. So whatever the film’s limitations, Mijke de Jong’s efforts to depict the radicalisation journey of “home-grown” extremists is commendable;  particularly with her balanced take which is both empathetic to the grievances of young Muslims in Europe, but also condemning of the intentions and actions of some, all in the context of liberal nation which has made a recent reactionary move towards the right.

The Bottom Line…

Despite limited character development and the oversimplification of complex subjects which make up the core narrative, ‘Layla M.’ is bold, unique and just about captivating enough to command your attention. Mijke de Jong deserves a lot of credit for the sheer guts and determination to address a contentious modern European issue with a simple character drama, asking but not answering difficult questions about extremism, radicalisation and the compatibility of very different cultures in one 21st century setting.

‘Layla M.’ is out in 17th of November in the Netherlands, with no UK date yet.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)

A talented and ambitious young Pakistani financial analyst makes his American dream comes true as he takes Wall Street by storm, but one fateful morning on the 11th of September 2001 changes everything. Now feeling increasingly marginalised and discriminated against, he begins to lose his love for the capitalist ideal and gravitate towards his culture and homeland, setting him on a dangerous path in an unforgiving new world.

Directed by Mira Nair and starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland among others.

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