Polite Society (2023)

Here we are, almost halfway through the alphabet for our A-to-Z Part Deux challenge. This week we have the letter “K” and with it comes Kari-Ann Trachmann (Production Assistant). The movie that Kari-Ann worked on that we’ll be looking at today is…Polite Society (2023).

Title: Polite Society

Director: Nida Manzoor

Released: April 28, 2023

Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes

Available to stream on: Peacock

Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) wants to be just like her idol, movie stuntwoman, Eunice Huthart. Ria has even gone so far as to email Eunice, on many occasions, about a possible mentorship. She practices martial arts and even creates short films showcasing her martial arts training under her alter-ego “The Fury” with help from her sister, Lena (Ritu Arya). Lena has recently dropped out of art school, feeling she isn’t good enough, and moved back in with her parents.

At school, Ria’s teacher pushes for her to pursue a more practical career. Making matters worse, Ria’s parents, being very traditional, also believe that she needs to stop with the stuntwoman dream and focus on a serious career, accusing Ria of having an overactive imagination. And all of her emails to Eunice, they’ve gone unanswered.

Ria, Lena, and their mother, Fatima (Shobu Kapoor), are invited to a gathering at the home of Raheela (Nimra Bucha), the leader of Fatima’s social circle. Well, Ria is no fool and it doesn’t take long for her to realize that this whole thing was set up to find a match for Raheela’s son, Salim (Akshay Khanna).

Unfortunately for Ria, her suspicion was spot-on. After just a few weeks of seeing each other, Salim and Lena not only agree to marry each other, but to move to Singapore afterwards as well. Ria is furious at Lena’s decision to abandon her art career to go play housewife for Salim. This disagreement causes a divide in their relationship.

Ria is convinced that there has to be something more at play here. Why would Lena agree to uproot her entire life and move to Singapore with someone she barely knows? If she’s going to get to the bottom of things, she’s going to need some help. Her friends, Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) and Clara (Seraphina Beh) are down for the adventure and agree to help Ria.

Will Ria be able to stop the marriage?

Is Lena in danger with Salim?

Or is it all just Ria’s overactive imagination getting the best of her?

Well, that was all kinds of fun!

Nida Manzoor, who both wrote and directed, came out swinging in her feature debut. She gives us a smartly written script that has heart, comedy, and action all blended together perfectly.

We are shown early on just how close of a relationship that Ria and Lena have with each other. You feel invested in their relationship, watching Lena push Ria to continue pursuing her stuntwoman career and Ria pushing Lena to not give up her dream of being an artist. Meanwhile, Clara and Alba are both great as sidekicks who are quick to provide some comedic relief with their banter.

With the relationship battles, the fight to stop the wedding, and everything else going on, I found myself invested in Ria and her pursuit of becoming a stuntwoman more than anything. Her determination to not give up on her dream, to push on in the face of adversity, and to do it all in the name of saving her sister from Salim and his mother Raheela.

But we were told early on that Ria has an overactive imagination. So, was everything that we saw real? Was it all a result of her imagination? Or did reality and imagination blend together? That’s part of what makes Polite Society (2023) so much fun.

One thing is for sure, imagination or not, Ria is a warrior…and she is “The Fury”.

Well, those are my thoughts, but what are yours?

If you’ve seen Polite Society (2023), tell me what you thought of it in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

To keep tabs on what else I’ve been watching or to follow my 2023 “100 Days Of Horror” journey, follow me on Letterboxd.

Want to get a sneak peek at what we’ll be reviewing next Sunday? This Wednesday, keep an eye out on Threads and Instagram for the reveal of who the crew member for the letter “L” will be and which movie they worked on that we’ll be looking at.