A lot of original films are hitting theatres lately and I am not complaining. Polite Society is one that flew under the radar for me though, as I just heard about it about a month ago. I am happy I decided to try it because it was very enjoyable. I will ultimately recommend this film throughout my review, but I have to say up front that it still underwhelmed me upon reflection. Although not completely satisfying, here is why Polite Society deserves more attention.
Ria (Priya Kansara), a young woman who is aspiring to become a Hollywood stuntwoman, makes it her mission to stop her sister Lena's (Ritu Arya) marriage. She believes that Salim (Akshay Khanna), the man she will be marrying, is hiding some big family secrets. Told through a fun visual style, Polite Society feels like it is trying to be the next Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but it definitely falls short of that. It's a simple story of a woman trying to prevent her sister from being married, but over-the-top fist fights and science labs are also a huge aspect of this film.
As much as I loved these characters and the story at hand was well-told, the style the filmmakers were going for was not utilized enough in my opinion. For such a simple premise, the crazy sequences sprinkled throughout the film were clearly meant to be fun and overdone on purpose. Sadly, everything I saw in the trailers is pretty much all I got from the final product. It never takes this great style and amplifies it, which made it seem like they were too afraid to push it too far. I would have walked out absolutely loving this film if they decided to go all in on the over-the-top stuff.
Polite Society is a great showcase for both Kansara and Khanna. I have not seen them perform much on-screen, but I will gladly watch any project they are attached to. Their chemistry with one another was infectious and their characters were also very well-written. I commend Nida Manzoor for both writing and directing this film, seeing as I believe the story and characters were very good, but I just wish she took bigger chances visually. Due to the fact that I believe this film did not reach its fullest potential, I will not say you have to rush out and see it in theatres, but I think it is more than good enough to eventually spend your time watching it once it is streaming. Polite Society is now playing in theatres.
