Polite Society

Polite Society, the debut film from We are Lady Parts creator Nida Manzoor, is chockablock with teenage kicks – specifically the flying and spinning variety. This livewire action-comedy centres on the fierce bond between two sisters from a middle-class British-Pakistani family and spills over with visual invention. Think wooshing camera moves, over-the-top sound effects and breakneck edits that turn each scene into an Edgar Wright-style movie homage. 

The film’s vitality seems to emanate from its central character, Ria (Kansara), a high-spirited teen with a martial arts obsession and an overactive imagination. She becomes convinced that her older sister, Lena, is in danger from her new boyfriend, Salim, a rich, slick-dick mummy's boy. When Lena and Salim announce their engagement, Ria sets out to break them up with the help of her goofy, loose-limbed best pals. 

Polite Society is a laugh riot but it's not without a political edge. Look past the wuxia-style combat and dorky teen banter and you’ll find themes of female oppression smuggled in. It's there, for example, in the way Manzoor sharply deploys traits of femininity as weapons, with a pair of hair straighteners becoming a branding iron during one of the many smackdowns and a pre-wedding leg waxing session turning into a torture scene worthy of the Bond movies.  

Polite Society can't quite maintain its crackerjack energy, particularly in a wedding scene finale that throws a bit too much into its genre masala of action, comedy, sci-fi and heist movie. A few sluggish moments aside, though, this is a fizzy and deceptively sharp romp.

For more on Polite Society, listen to the latest episode of The Cineskinny podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts