A One Mann’s Movies review of “Polite Society” (2023).
One of the interesting movie trends of 2023 has been the release of ‘crossover’ films that try to appeal to generic audiences as well as the specific tastes of Asian heritage minorities. First we had “What’s Love Got to Do with It” with Lily James and Shazad Latif in a ‘will they/won’t they’ romance (no betting odds available!) pitted against a Pakistani arranged marriage. In March there was “Little English”, a film that got such a limited release that I never even crossed its path in cinemas, but which concerned a new Indian girl arriving into a dysfunctional Punjabi family in Slough. And now this one “Polite Society”, another film about arranged marriages in the Muslim-Asian community, which goes as far as having the titles presented in both English and Pakistani scripts (I think these are the Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi script versions used in different parts of the Punjab, but anyone in the know please correct me if I’m wrong!)
And, as a movie, it’s a breath of fresh air. It has a blissfully entertaining set-up for sure even if the movie doesn’t quite nail it in the second half.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Ria (Priya Kansara) is a wannabe stuntwoman, who idolises the (real-life) English stuntwoman (ex-Gladiator Eunice Huthart). Her older sister Lena (Rita Arya) is an art-college drop-out, wracked with self-doubt and drifting. Despite their troubles, both sisters are very close, with Lena – also a martial arts expert – helping Ria with her Youtube stunt videos. Thus, a small nuclear explosion occurs in Ria’s life when Lena’s heart is swept away by the dashing paediatric surgeon Salim (Akshay Khanna). She is determined that the relationship must end.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC: “Moderate threat, violence, sex references, infrequent strong language”. This one feels quite racy for a ’12’ to me, and with some course language and quite significant violence. There is a savage kicking meted out in the finale for example. Definitely towards the top of the ’12’ rating I think).
Talent:
Starring: Priya Kansara, Rita Arya, Akshay Khanna, Nimra Bucha, Shobu Kapoor, Jeff Mirza, Ella Bruccoleri, Seraphina Beh, Shona Babayemi.
Directed by: Nida Manzoor.
Written by: Nida Manzoor.
Twitter Handle: #PoliteSocietyFF.
Shepherd’s Bush becomes another character as Brixton and Peckham was in “Rye Lane“. Priya Kansara as Ria (centre) with Ella Bruccoleri as Alba (R) and Seraphina Beh as Clara (L). (Source: Focus Features)
“Polite Society” Review:
Positives:
- There’s an infectious energy to the opening of this film: manic, over-the-top fantasy fight scenes that are reminiscent of Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”. It’s ‘real-world’…. but distinctly not ‘real-world’ too. (After the “Khan vs Khan” battle, a door lies in tatters, a final piece artfully falling off a minute late. “Clean up that mess and come downstairs” their mother (Shobu Kapoor) shouts upstairs to the scene of utter devastation!)
- Priya Kansara as Ria, in her debut feature, is an ABSOLUTE STAR in the making. Such wonderful screen-presence and such vivacious energy, this is a 26 year-old (playing much younger here) with a very bright future. She gets a place on my ‘One Mann’s Movies One-to-watch’ list without hesitation. Rita Arya, who I recognise as the police inspector from last year’s glossy Netflix “Red Notice“, is also very watchable.
- Also fabulous in a comedy supporting role is Ella Bruccoleri, also in her feature film debut. She is best known for playing Sister Frances in the BBC1 series “Call the Midwife”. But here she is hilarious as the schoolgirl friend (she is actually a year older then Priya Kansara at 27!), with a range of very funny expressions: a born comedienne. The scene with her infiltrating the men’s changing rooms is snort-out-loud funny.
- The script and direction by Nida Manzoor in her debut feature is impressive. She did TVs well-regarded “We Are Lady Parts”, and this bodes well for a strong movie career. More than surpassed the 6-laughs test, and at times through in some genuinely impressive “The Prisoner”-style moments to unsettle you. Top-notch.
- Loved the pounding soundtrack to this one. ‘Techno’ isn’t really my thing, but I thought the music was very well chosen here.
Negatives:
- I want to avoid spoilers in this review, so I can’t say what I want to say openly here. Let’s just say that the film, a bit like the recent “Allelujah“, takes a surprising turn to the macabre at one point and turns into a very different film from what we had before. The first half of the film, which I enjoyed much more, had the vibe of a “Rye Lane” in its characterisations, sprinkled with the plot of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and an essence of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. The second half turns more into a comedic version of an Indie thriller from a few years ago. I didn’t hate it. But the tonal inconsistency was a bit jarring. (I might have got for 4.5*s otherwise rather than the borderline 3.5* / 4* that I went with).
- What’s with the title? This is going to be REALLY annoying when stills come up from this on framed.wtf in the future (which I play every day by the way… very good… give it a try if you haven’t before!) I’m going to know the film but find the title very hard to recall. Surely the obvious title here was “The Fury” or “I am the Fury”?
Summary Thoughts on “Polite Society”
This was such an impressive debut movie for a whole bunch of the participants: writer/director Nida Manzoor, star Priya Kansara and co-star Ella Bruccoleri. It rollocks along at an excellent clip. It’s funny and engaging and made 100 minutes fly by. If it hadn’t tried to be a bit too ambitious with its storyline, this was well on-course to be a 5* classic for me.
I saw this as a #cinewordunlimited preview. The film opens in cinemas this Friday, 28th April.
[fblike]
Trailer for “Polite Society”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajiUcED54Y0 .
