By Steve Dinneen
Bridgerton actor Priya Kansara plays Ria, a young woman from a traditional British-Asian family with the less-than-traditional dream of being a stunt woman. Older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) helps her with her passion, but that bond seems to be in jeopardy when she embarks on a whirlwind romance with the family-approved Salim (Akshay Khanna). Enlisting her friends, she hatches a plan to use all her skills to perform a wedding heist.
Writer/director Nida Manzoor’s film has already drawn comparisons toOscar darling Everything Everywhere All At Once, which is unfair as it is very much its own story. The filmmaker blends several genres together in an endearing spectacle, as kung fu movies, Bollywood, and high school dramas all create a vivid whirlwind, ultimately grounded by the power of sisterhood. Sequences like video game-style fights in school might have seemed gimmicky were they not executed with such glee and affection.
Some of its many ideas bump into each other, as none of the subjects broached get time to breathe (particularly the pressure on young South Asian women to marry). However, the energy and performances mean that maelstrom is always entertaining. Kansara is a joy to watch as Ria, wearing her emotions boldly as she confesses all to her hero, stuntwoman/former Gladiator Eunice Huthart, via unanswered emails. The young star is what makes the bold movie tick, with she and her co-conspirators inviting you into the passionate teenage perspective that may not always make sense, but radiates sincerity.
Polite Society is a bold and interesting film debut from Manzoor, creator of the award-winning Channel 4 show We Are Lady Parts. Both she and Kansara make this film an entertaining ride that may just herald the arrival two exciting new talents in British cinema.
Polite Society is in cinemas from 28 April
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