The Long Goodbye

“You’re not transparent, you know!” protests the grandfather as the father and son leap around. playing a game, in front of the television. The father (Riz Ahmed) dismisses his concern. It’s 24 hour rolling news: he can watch it anytime. As far as he’s concerned, it’s always much the same. Right wing agitators are marching somewhere in central London. There’s shouting and something in the air which could be smoke or tear gas. It seems a long way away from their comfortable suburban existence.

Somewhere, white men in black pseudo-military gear are shouting about taking their country back. The father has to move a chair upstairs. His teenage daughter, who is in her room with other young women painting the hands of a bride-to-be and giggling about boys, says she doesn’t have room for it., His young son kindly makes space in his room. Space is at a premium as the house is full of relatives excited about the coming celebration. Downstairs, two of them are playing a game on their phones. Other inhabitants of the house are frantically running around trying to get things organised. It’s only a fluke of circumstance, which leads the father to notice what’s going on in the street outside.

White men in black pseudo-military gear. Big black vans. Other British Asian people being dragged out of their houses into the street. He shouts to his family. Everybody runs, listening to him and reacting with a quickness which one imagines most white people would not, reminding us of the suspicion of danger which always lurks somewhere in the backs of the minds of those most at risk. Everybody runs, but there’s not enough time and there’s nowhere to go.

Aneil Karia’s direction, all close-ups and quick camera movement and lively background noise, immerses us in the family’s world so completely that there’s no time to prepare emotionally even if one knows what is on the way. Even the grandfather, who is trying to follow and understand the threat, gains no particular advantage from it. Are there things the family might have done? Perhaps, but only the things that any of us could do, right now, to contribute to turning the tide against fascism. in the moment, the incursion is so dramatic, so overwhelming that the situation feels helpless. White neighbours could speak up, could film, could put it on the internet and seek help, but like most people confronted with an extreme and unexpected event, they just watch. Two police officers watch too, nodding along with one of the far right aggressors.

Ending with a powerfully delivered piece of verse which serves as a reminder of Ahmed’s background in music, this is a film about something which could happen in the real world at any time. It’s a film about what has happened, again and again, in history. And it’s a film about what happening, right now: about the impact of fear. What may just be background noise on the television for some is a very real threat for others, who feel unable to ignore it.

Even shorn of context, this would be an impressive and hard-hitting piece of work. Given the rise of the right in the UK and elsewhere in recent years, it’s a wake-up call.