The longstanding appeal of the road movie is that they are tales of self-discovery. It is a chance for characters to learn about themselves and the world beyond their surroundings. Nadia Fall’s Brides uses the road trip format as a gateway to reflect on the nature of radicalization and its impact on the youth in the United Kingdom.
Fall’s film centres around teenagers Doe (Ebada Hassan), an immigrant from Somalia, and Muna (Safiyya Ingar), who is of Pakistani descent, as leave their small-town U.K. community for Turkey with plans of reaching the Syrian border. The goal for the young women is to join an extremist group where they believe they will be able to live their lives and faith in peace.
As the audience observes through flashbacks, life in the U.K. has not been pleasant for the pair. Doe, the shy one of the two, is regularly subjected to racist and sexist comments and physical harassment by her classmates. These incidents often occur in front of teachers with little interest in her well-being. Things are equally glum at home. Not only is her mother not practicing their Muslim faith, but she is dating a white British man who is abusive.
Muna’s personal life is not much better, as she endures physical abuse at the hands of her volatile father. Masking her pain behind a boisterous and tough demeanour, she gets into fights as an unhealthy way to exert her frustration. Tired of the outward abuse and the general micro-aggressions from the white citizens who look upon them with accusatory eyes, Doe and Muna turn to social media in search of freedom.
Tumbling down the online rabbit hole, where clips of injustice towards Muslims and propaganda about a Muslim utopia in Syria are plentiful, the pair become enamoured with a militant group that promises a haven for Muslims. The fact that a young man Doe liked has already joined the group only sweetens the idea for the teens.
As the pair embark on their journey, they meet various Muslims along the way—all of whom show them kindness. Fall uses these interactions to not only show the multifaceted aspects of the faith, but also to challenge the girls’ preconceived perceptions. It is when the film flirts with whether the girls will go through with their mission that it is most engaging.
There is a sense of dread always lurking over proceedings, be it the mysterious online militant group giving instructions via voice over or the eyes of lecherous men at a bar. It all adds to the film’s complexity.
Unfortunately, for all its promising aspects, and the wonderful performance by Hassan and Ingar, Brides doesn’t reach the emotional payoff it builds to. Part of this is due to the fact that so much of the focus is on Doe. Muna’s plight and motivations feel like an afterthought for a large swath the film. Fall also makes the curious decision to soften what would have otherwise been a powerful mic drop. Rather than let audiences stew in the moment, she quickly pivots to a charming flashback of the pairs first meeting.
The unevenness of this and other moments would not have been as noticeable had Brides had deeper things to say about the things the girls were running away from or heading to. In keeping the film from the vantage point of Doe and Muna, the film feels a little to idealistic for its own good. Brides may flirts with themes of infatuation, independence, and extremism, but this tale of friendship is reluctant to fully marry itself to any one of its ideas.