Polite Society: Movie Review

Cast: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha, Shobu Kapoor, Ella Bruccoleri, Jeff Mirza, Akshay Khanna

Director: Nida Manzoor

We Are Lady Parts and Doctor Who director Nida Manzoor's Polite Society is a whipsmart, whipcracker of an anarchic movie that draws inspiration from the quick-cut comedy of Edgar Wright and the insaner sensibilities of the likes of Tarantino as well as various kung fu and spy movies.

A stand-out Kansara plays Ria Khan, who believes she can be the next big stuntwoman and is practising daily to get an apprenticeship with her dream hero on the streets of West London. Despite her teacher telling her at career day her choices lie with doctor or receptionist, Ria has the belief of her elder sister Lena (Arya).

So when Lena seemingly gives up on her dream of becoming an artist, and becomes engaged to Salim, Ria goes into overdrive, convinced her sister is being kidnapped and coerced into a life she never wanted.

Imbued with a punkish energy, and gifted with some genuinely clever oneliners, sight gags and riffs on spy films (a spa day turned into torture is a delight), Polite Society moves at a cracking pace, and with a cracking eye for vibrant moments, even if it does head dangerously close to mother-in-law joke territory.

But while its ultimate reveals feel a little too silly and out there to build on their obvious Get Out elements, plenty of Polite Society works well thanks to a redoubtable lead performance from Kansara, who's clearly deft at all elements of the script and destined for great things.

But Manzoor also deserves praise too, chopping and changing between the narratives with aplomb, and gifting the movie some extremely well choreographer action as well as Bollywood elements. Even though the film heads down a sillier path, its lead in from coming of age and the unwavering belief of sisters more than gifts the movie with humanity and heart, no matter how familiar its tropes are.

A welcome mix of many different elements, all cleverly and smartly executed, this women-led outing is a blast of cinematic fresh air that shows cross-genre pollination soars when executed well.