Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society focuses on tearing down cultural and familial expectations. A coming-of-age movie that fuses action and comedy together, it follows the story of a teenage British-Pakistani girl fighting for her dreams and saving her sister from impending marriage. Manzoor’s first feature brings personality, charm, and channels the foundation of a coming-of-age comedy that is outrageously chaotic and follows the fantasies of a young girl’s self-centred dreams.
Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), a restless British-Pakistani Muslim girl, doesn’t care much about her education. Her only goal in life is to become Britain’s top stuntwoman and follow in the footsteps of world-renowned stuntwoman, Eunice Huthart. Ria routinely sends emails and asks for her advice, but never receives a response. Her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya, The Umbrella Academy) recently dropped out of art school and finds herself feeling lost. When Lena meets Salim Shah (Akshay Khanna), a doctor and an only son of the matriarch, Raheela (Nimra Bucha, Miss Marvel), at an Eid party, everything changes. After a swift courtship, Lena announces that she is getting married to Salim. Ria is appalled at this information. If Lena doesn’t realise her dreams of becoming an artist, Ria will never fulfil her dreams of being a stuntwoman. Ria is determined to prevent her sister from getting married, by any means necessary.
Polite Society combines Ria and Lena’s most fundamental, universal experiences of teenagehood, with the melodramatic martial arts sequences. There are silly, over-the-top action sequences, and somehow every major character knows martial arts. Manzoor moulds the screenplay as a high school comedy with hilariously choreographed fight scenes. It never takes itself seriously, as the battles include wire-fu that isn’t polished to add some comedic element to the fight scenes. The characters swing and levitate in the mid-air when they fight and defy gravity. From her classroom nemesis Kovacs (Shona Babayemi) to Raheela, Ria’s personality and choreography differs in each fight scene. While Kovacs and Ria’s brawl leans towards an amateurish performance, like a wrestler, her fight with Raheela is much more graceful and powerful due to her status. The battles aren’t perfect. Manzoor’s fight sequences are light, which is a perfect combination for a coming-of-age story that doesn’t need to be polished to perfection.
Along with the dramatics, Manzoor keeps Polite Society grounded with emotional stakes. It’s a fresh take on the coming-of-age story, which focuses on the symbiotic relationship between Ria and Lena. Manzoor frames the inevitable separation between Ria and Lena as deeply connected layers of metaphor. Their bond is strong only when they are together, and if one person doesn’t follow their dreams, the other person’s success is dim. That’s the basis of their relationship. Ria and Lena lift each other up, and Manzoor achieves this by bringing drama and fantasy into the story’s emotional core scenes.
However, Ria’s character is somewhat unlikeable. Her intense personality and rude attitude towards everyone makes it difficult for the audience to relate to her. Ria is a misunderstood teenager, whose bold accusations against Salim and Raheela get her into more trouble with her family, especially Lena. Perhaps Manzoor created Ria as an embodiment of the ‘misunderstood kid,’ often portrayed in coming-of-age movies, who need to prove themselves to be worthy of everyone’s attention.
Regardless of these minor flaws, Manzoor’s ensemble of enthusiastic characters is marvellous. She injects humour and charm into an endearing and infectious movie. Kansara, who plays her first lead role in Polite Society, is a revelation. She nails the role of an awkward teenager with dreams of becoming the best stuntwoman, even though she can’t execute them properly. Kansara is a star. Her wide-eyed, enthusiastic energy is unlike anything ever seen on screen, as she fully commits herself to the role.
Polite Society is a fun, odd movie that explores the power of familial relationships and the new generation’s path to achieving their goals. Manzoor’s coming-of-age movie defies the trope and lets the characters be themselves, while also identifying what motivates their dreams and fantasies, especially Ria, who triumphs in her journey. It’s a heartwarming movie that explores the emotional bond between sisters, while also battling the standards set by patriarchal and cultural expectations. The characters may not be perfect, but the strength of Ria and Lena’s bond is much more powerful than before. With an endearing story and action-packed sequences, Manzoor’s Polite Society is a joyful movie that could potentially turn into an instant classic.
