Film Review: Polite Society

Director: Nida Manzoor
Starring: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Seraphina Beh
Running time: 103 minutes

From the moment the trailer for the film dropped online, Polite Society has promised bold action, stylish visuals, and a sharp sense of humour. Yet, while the final release certainly delivers on these promises to a point, it does so while feeling a little like an extended episode of M.I.High. It’s fun and fresh, but also tonally flawed. To put it politely: It isn’t a perfect production. 

The story of Polite Society is built around aspiring stuntwoman Ria (an admittedly amazing Priya Kansara), who - when her struggling-artist sister (Ritu Arya) becomes betrothed to Salim Shah (Akshay Khanna), a man who seems too good to be true - puts her somersaulting skills to the test and takes on the evil Shah family, calling on the support of her two best friends, Clara (Seraphina Beh) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri), to help her do so. 

And, in truth, it is in these latter two characters - particularly the latter of the latter two - that Polite Society mostly misses the mark. As soon as the pair saddle up next to Ria in a Tracey Beaker-esque opening sequence in the school grounds, they bring a level of absurdity that drags the film from a tongue-in-cheek action-comedy to a borderline spoof, feeling like caricatures within a story that’s largely fleshed out with interesting characters. One particular sequence, involving a heist at a gym, feels particularly ludicrous - as if it was pieced together by overly-excited students as part of a school play.

Visually, things can feel slightly silly at times, too. By focusing on excessively-stylised action, the fight scenes can struggle to hit home, so to speak, their lack of logic and reliance on choppy editing taking you out of the action on occasion. Throwing caution to the wind of physics is one thing, and is a move that produces some memorable moments, but it feels like a wasted opportunity: A slightly more solid focus on realism would have helped to ground the characters and emphasise the stakes. 

That said, for all the silliness, there is plenty to enjoy here, too. The visual playfulness that director Nida Manzoor brings to the film does offer entertaining beats, and one particular running gag - featuring a Street Fighter-style introduction between characters pre-fight - never fails to bring a smile. The film’s lead, Kansara, shines brightly in what feels like a career-kickstarting performance: She nails the emotions, she’s delightfully entertaining; she’s perfect for the role. And, while certainly whacky, there is a genuine emotional through line here that sucks the viewer in, making you truly care about the fate of (most of) these characters - which is largely driven by the charming and believable chemistry between Kansara and Arya. 

So, sure, it might border on cringeworthy every now and then, and its tendency to jump from pretty brutal action and potty-mouth swears to gags that even some kids might find a bit stupid delivers a tonal unbalance that’s certainly frustrating, but it’s still worth checking out nonetheless. If for no other reason than the fact that Priya Kansara is going far. 

Polite Society is now showing at Broadway Cinema