Polite Society (film)

Polite Society

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2023
Founder	Nida Manzoor (writer and director)
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Products	Martial arts action comedy film
Parent	Working Title, Focus Features, Parkville Pictures

Polite Society is a 2023 British martial arts action comedy marking the feature debut of writer and director Nida Manzoor. The film features performances by Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha, Akshay Khanna, Seraphina Beh, among others.

The narrative follows Ria Khan, a teenage girl determined to protect her older sister Lena, who chooses to give up her personal ambitions in order to marry.

The movie had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2023, followed by a UK and US release on 28 April 2023 through Universal Pictures. It was met with widespread critical praise and earned $2.7 million at the box office.

Plot

Set in London, the film centers on Ria Khan, a British-Pakistani teenager with aspirations of becoming a stunt performer inspired by her hero, Eunice Huthart. Adopting the persona "the Fury," Ria records her martial arts practice sessions with assistance from her older sister Lena, who has left art school and returned home to their conservative parents, Fatima and Rafe, both of whom discourage Ria’s ambitions.

At school, Ria maintains close friendships with Clara and Alba, yet faces pressure from a disapproving teacher to pursue a more conventional career path. Attempts to connect with Eunice for mentorship go unanswered, and Ria suffers defeat at the hands of the school bully Kovacs. The Khan family attends an Eid celebration hosted by Raheela, the leader of Fatima’s Pakistani mothers’ social group. The event is organized to arrange a match for Raheela’s son Salim, a successful geneticist, and Lena agrees to meet him.

Lena quickly becomes engaged to Salim and plans to relocate to Singapore, creating tension with Ria who opposes her sister abandoning her artistic dreams. Suspecting ulterior motives, Ria enlists Clara and Alba to investigate Salim. Their attempts to find evidence through hacking yield no incriminating results.

In a desperate move, Ria tries to undermine Lena’s relationship by planting false evidence but is discovered. Salim reveals that a woman in a photograph is his late first wife who died during childbirth. Angered, Lena tells Ria to give up on trying to change her decisions or pursue stunt work.

Feeling alienated from both friends and family, Ria ceases practicing martial arts. After apologizing to Raheela, she undergoes painful waxing at Raheela’s spa day and uncovers a secret laboratory where women attending the Eid party were scanned for fertility; Lena was chosen due to her strong reproductive health.

Unable to convince her family of the truth, Ria confides in Clara and Alba. They recruit Kovacs’ assistance in rescuing Lena from her wedding. During the ceremony, Ria distracts attendees with an elaborate Bollywood-style dance while Clara and Alba incapacitate Lena with chloroform and conceal her in a tea trolley. Raheela captures Ria and reveals plans to impregnate Lena with Raheela’s clone.

The group is confined in the bridal suite until Kovacs comes to their aid. Confronting Raheela at gunpoint, Ria exposes the conspiracy. Lena recalls being drugged by Salim, who admits his first wife died carrying his mother’s clone. Fatima disarms Raheela as a confrontation erupts between guests and staff.

Lena overpowers Salim while Ria defeats Raheela using a reverse spinning kick. Police arrive as the sisters reconcile and leave together. Later, Ria receives an encouraging email from Eunice, leading to a celebratory moment between them.

Production

In January 2022, director Nida Manzoor revealed her first feature-length film, a feminist martial arts action-comedy centered on two British-Pakistani sisters from private schools living in London. The project, produced by Working Title, Focus Features, and Parkville Pictures, showcases Manzoor’s signature approach previously seen in her acclaimed series We Are Lady Parts.

Filming concluded in London by February 2022. Key producers included Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner representing Working Title, alongside Olivier Kaempfer and John Pocock from Parkville Pictures. Distribution rights were secured by Focus Features.

The typography and graphic design for the title sequence, credits, chapter titles, and fight scene introductions were created by Peter Anderson Studio.

Genre and influences

Polite Society defies classification within a single genre, with Manzoor describing it as "a joyful kung fu Bollywood epic." The film draws inspiration from spaghetti westerns, All About Eve, Hong Kong kung-fu films, and the work of Yuen Woo-ping. Other creative influences encompass the 2002 movie Devdas (notably the wedding dance of Ria), Jane Austen’s literature, Jackie Chan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Get Out, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, as well as filmmakers Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, plus The Slums of Beverly Hills.

Release

Polite Society had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2023 and was subsequently screened at the Glasgow Film Festival on 12 March 2023. It was commercially released in both the United Kingdom and United States on 28 April 2023.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts a 91% approval rating based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10. The critical consensus notes that "Polite Society throws, kicks, and punches the genre etiquette book out the window to deliver a fun film blending Bollywood splendor and British wryness." Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Robbie Collin from the Daily Telegraph characterized the film as “rollicking,” “crafty and fresh,” highlighting its “witty, lucid, crunchy, slick” fight choreography while identifying Kansara as an emerging star. Mohammad Zaheer of BBC Culture awarded it four stars, applauding its energetic action sequences and genre fusion along with commendations for the screenplay, cinematography, acting performances, choreography, and soundtrack. He also noted the film’s nuanced portrayal avoiding stereotypes in Lena's engagement storyline with Salim.

In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw recognized Manzoor’s debut as one of the standout films of 2023. Furthermore, former U.S. President Barack Obama included "Polite Society" among his favorite films of that year.

Accolades

At the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, Manzoor received the award for Best Debut Screenwriter. Additional nominations featured Priya Kansara for Breakthrough Performance, Ritu Arya for Best Supporting Performance, Claire Carter for Best Hair & Make Up, and Paddy Eason for Best Effects.

See also

• List of female action heroes and villains

External links

• Polite Society – Sundance Film Festival