'Polite Society': A Unique and Fierce Portrayal of Sisterhood and Friendship.
Polite Society, the directorial debut of Nida Manzoor, is a coming-of-age immigrant-family dramedy with martial-arts movie elements. The film follows Ria Khan, a schoolgirl who dreams of being a stuntwoman, and her sister Lena, who is dealing with a depressive episode. Ria's fights with classmates, Lena, and Salim's mother are realized as full-on action showdowns. While the film's use of genre frameworks to tell stories of intergenerational immigrant pain is not new, Polite Society lacks grandeur and abandon in its execution. However, the scenes between Ria and Lena are the movie's best, and Priya Kansara delivers a winning performance as Ria.