Female Film Critics 24/375
If you crossed Bend It Like Beckham with The Marvels and put an Everything Everywhere All at Once filter on the finished product (with maybe a dash of Jane Austen or Bridgerton for kicks), you might come up with something like Polite Society. But make no mistake: Nida Manzoor’s energetic, gonzo action comedy about an aspiring young stuntwoman doing everything she can to prevent her older sister’s marriage is a true original.
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There’s not been a film that focused on a South Asian teenage girl quite the way that Polite Society does. For over a decade, London-based writer/director Nida Manzoor has been nuancing the script that is now releasing as her feature debut. Manzoor recently found success on the small screen with her award-winning series We Are Lady Parts, which follows a feminist all-girl Muslim punk band. Still, Polite Society is far more personal to her own life. It springs from her experiences as a sports-playing and karate-trained teenage tomboy who both loved and hated her big sister.
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Polite Society, is bursting with culture, comedy, stunts, sisterhood and friendship in a eye popping cinematic joyride. With a premiere at Sundance, the directorial debut feature from British filmmaker Nida Manzoor will quickly become one of your favorite films this year. It’s quirky and real and is filled with some really big lessons on being true to yourself and not caving to societal pressures.
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Polite Society, which handily blends elements of caper, Bollywood musical, Hong Kong action, and coming-of-age genres, is first and foremost a feminist tale about finding acceptance and sisterhood, even when most of the world sees you as an outsider. Speaking of outsiders, specifically in the film world, there are women all up and down the line in this production, including Manzoor at the helm, two South Asian female performers as leads, and a female cinematographer, Ashley Connor, as DP, and guess what? The film kicks literal and cinematic ass. When the film ends, wrapped up in a tidy bow required in every genre culled to make up this mashup, the audience is left with a warm feeling of sisterhood and celebration. Even as the credits roll, and Poly Styrene can be heard fearlessly barking the lyrics of Identity at the audience, all I can think of is watching the movie again. Polite Society is a well-made yarn, and great, badass fun from the first moment to the last.
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