Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends’ help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.
There’s something special about a mash-up movie where both sides of the story execute so well. “Polite Society” brings together the underpinning of classic ’90s action movies with a sisterly tale of romance reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel. Between the handsome doctors sweeping artists off their feet and a rambunctious teenager pulling off a heist in an Equinox sauna room, a clever amalgam of styles works so effortlessly because of its characters’ emotional depth. Despite the elaborate fight scenes or beautiful dates, the movie never loses sight of its emotional center. It even pulls at its core relationship in insightful ways before dazzling us with a big finale.
“Polite Society” follows teenage stuntwoman-to-be Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) as she attempts to bring her sister Lena (Ritu Arya) out of a depression. While Ria and her friends fight bullies, beg for stuntwoman internships, and generally rag on their enemies, Lena meets a man at a fancy ball. Ria detests her sister’s relationship until a whirlwind marriage proposal threatens to take her sister far away from her. Ria fights to convince her sister not to marry the charming, wealthy, and handsome Doctor Salim (Akshay Khanna). Ria suspects her brother-in-law has nefarious plans for her vulnerable sister, and only she can save her from the impending doom.
“Polite Society” never skips a beat. This film moves briskly between the fast cuts, gliding camera moves, and rapid-fire humor. It propels us forward from the perspective of Ria, where everything happens lightning-fast, and the world feels so slow. The action in the movie works particularly well as Ria challenges several different enemies to one-on-one combat Tekken-style. Ria dances, glides, flips, kicks, and punches her way through problems and takes a beating in return. The clever cuts around the action and the impressive choreography make the movie intense. Its edit gives beats and arcs to individual action sequences, making each chapter its own unique plot.
Most importantly of all this, the cast really leans into the tone of the film. Its cheesy action tone harkens back to the self-seriousness of the lower-budget action classics, but everyone in the cast finds a perfect middle ground. Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya carry this film as Ria and Lena, respectively. They quip and cry in equal measure, making this film soar. Ria’s friends Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) and Clara (Seraphina Beh) provide most of the comedy as nerdy best friends supporting their hero-in-distress. Most notably, the elder statesman of the ensemble, Nimra Bucha, absolutely kills it. She strikes the perfect balance of conniving, menacing, endearing, and profound.
The story carefully shows us Ria’s world (the flip-punch-action-sequence version of it) and the more objective reality. Its drama centers around the disparities between the two. Ria’s mission to save her sister is also a descent into selfishness. Based on this disparity, the film draws a strong through-line and delves deep into the fracture between these two sisters. It’s a fantastic guiding light for a movie and one emotional tenant that falls by the wayside at the very end.
“Polite Society” spends much time questioning Ria’s motives, even challenging her view of the world. She makes mistakes for most of the movie, but instead of coping with her growing despair, the film decides to take her side. They go with a grand finale action piece which I don’t inherently disagree with; it just realigns everyone emotionally to be on Ria’s side and prevents Ria from learning a hard lesson. It’s dissatisfying, to say the least, and confusing. Essentially the action works so well in conjunction with the story until this final moment. I’d still heartily recommend to everyone to see it. Teenage girls might love this film. With such hearty performances and badass fights, it’s a stellar view that works. Even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing, it’s still a helluva show.
In Theaters Friday, April 28th
