Eaten by Lions is a 2019 British comedy film written and directed by Jason Wingard. The film stars Antonio Aakeel as Omar and Jack Carroll as Pete.[1] The film is the feature-length adaptation of the director's 2013 short film 'Going to Mecca' which won best comedy at the Manchester International Film Festival.[2][3] The feature follows half-brothers Omar and Pete as they embark on a journey to find Omar's estranged father, confronting him on the day of his daughter's engagement party.[4]
| Eaten by Lions | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jason Wingard |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Matt North |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Dan Baboulene |
Production company | Mecca Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The film released in UK cinemas on 29 March 2019 following its successful premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival June 2018 and was screened as part of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival June 2018, winning the audience choice award for best film.[5][6]
Plot
editHalf-brothers Pete and Omar's parents are eaten by lions when their hot air balloon crashes in a safari park, so their grandmother takes them in. When she dies she leaves Omar info about his father kept secret from him.
The boys' aunt Ellen and uncle Ken take in Peter easily, but are icy to Omar as he's half Indian and not related by blood. After announcing they'd like to adopt Peter only, Omar decides it's one snub too many. Heading to gram's old apartment, Pete follows close behind.
Omar announces he is embarking on a journey to Blackpool in search of his estranged father, he eventually lets Pete tag along. Shortly after arriving, as Pete is lying on the beach, Omar is off getting a treat. He meets pink-haired Amy, one of an array of colourful characters they meet on their travels.
When he gets back to the beach, Omar finds the tide has come in. Pete had fallen asleep and Omar's suitcase containing their cash got washed out too far for him to retrieve it. Broke, they looked for Amy at Sea Planet. She takes them to her uncle Ray's guesthouse and he lets them stay for free.
The boys go to the pier to spread their gram's ashes and again come across Malik's address. After some confusion, it's discovered that Malik' brother Irfan gave his name to Omar's mother Karen. The boys are invited to stay for the engagement luncheon of Malik's oldest daughter Nadia.
At the meal they are introduced around. Parveen, the second daughter, is mute and takes a strong liking to Pete. When the patriarch of the family Saftar arrives and finds out Irfan falsely used Malik's name and fathered a son, he punishes him like a child. And Irfan has a childlike temper tantrum.
Parveen follows Pete to the upstairs bathroom, and she shows she's not mute. When he asks her why, she explains she's trying to stay as invisible as possible to her family 'like a ninja'. She stops flirting with Pete when her dad appears.
Back at Ray's, Omar sneaks out to meet Amy at the pier. He remembers when his parents died how their aunt and uncle only wanted Pete, which is why their gram took them. When Amy arrives, they get to know each other better along the shore.
When Omar returns, Pete is up and angry at him as he'd feared he'd been abandoned. Ray is with him, and accuses Omar to be up to mischief. Omar apologises, promising he won't abandon Pete. The next day Irfan takes them out in Blackpool to see the family's Pakistani-Indian shop, the arcade and a show of people in drag.
Omar and Pete stay over in Saftar's so Irfan can continue bonding with his son. Pete wakes to Parveen cuddling with him in bed, so he screams alerting the whole house. Omar loses his temper, accusing him of being a burden. Soon Ellen and Ken turn up, Omar takes off and the racist aunt says they'll leave without him.
Meanwhile, Amy comforts Omar at the pier. Pete and Parveen go joyriding in Saftar's restored car and stay out all night partying. First Omar and Amy, then Pete, Parveen and a lot of people party in the house. When the family returns they find the car crashed into the house, a rager and a very drunk Parveen vomiting on a cop and breaking her silence with a slew of profanity.
Pete is taken away by Ellen and Ken and Omar is turned out too. Irfan comes looking for Omar, offering him a key to his annex. They go together to spring Pete out, offering room in the annex. At Nadia's wedding is the whole array of colourful characters.
Cast
edit- Antonio Aakeel as Omar[7]
- Jack Carroll as Pete[8]
- Asim Chaudhry as Irfan
- Johnny Vegas as Ray
- Vicki Pepperdine as Ellen
- Kevin Eldon as Ken
- Sarah Hoare as Amy
- Nitin Ganatra as Malik[9]
- Tom Binns as Fortune Teller
- Darshan Jariwala as Saftar
- Stephanie Fayerman as Gran
- Natalie Davies as Parveen
- Hayley Tamaddon as Sara[10]
- Shila Iqbal as Nadia
- Naithan Ariane as Sadiq
- Steve Cain as Kev
- Christopher Hollinshead as Mike
- Daniel Wallace as Stacey
- Jason Redshaw as Tooty Frooty
- Thomas Mark Shannon as Party Member
Production
editEaten by Lions was developed by Mecca Films with principal photography beginning in April 2017.[11]
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 12 critics.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Filming underway on British comedy Eaten by Lions". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Going to Mecca wins best comedy". Leeds Mag. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Going to Mecca short film". Vimeo. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Johnny Vegas to star in Blackpool comedy film". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival 2018 Overview". Bagri London Indian Film Festival. June 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "'Eaten by Lions' Wins at London Indian Film Festival, 'Slumdog' Star Irrfan Khan Honored (EXCLUSIVE)". 29 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Antonio Aakeel to star in Eaten by Lions". Birmingham Mail. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Jack Carroll shoots his first movie". Chortle. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Nitin Ganatra in Eaten by Lions". United Agents. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Hayley: "I'm delighted to be filming on home soil"". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Eaten by Lions goes into production". Chase Films. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Eaten by Lions (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.