Polite Society: the biggest surprise of the year

Frank Film Club with Maisie Williams

For film club this week we’re watching Polite Society, last year’s British martial artsaction comedy film from debut feature filmmaker Nida Manzoor.

The setup sees Ria, a London-based Pakistani Muslim girl who dreams of becoming one of Britain’s top stuntwomen. But it;s about so much more than that. It’s genre hopping, it’s a rewarding British comedy, it’s giving Kick Ass, and you know what, it’s different to the other sh*t you see in the cinemas. The film inspires us to reflect on meeting your heroes, co-dependant sisterly relationships and family who are dubious of your dreams.

We agree it has the coolest stunt scenes of recent years, the perfect synergy between the choreography and camerawork being helped by the fact the cinematographer herself has a black belt in karate (OBSESSED). Maisie opens up about her experience filming stunts for Game of Thrones, the stamina and prep needed to make them look convincing, and we discuss the perseverance of stunt people in general.

We cover clever sound design, budget and the 10 year journey of getting the film made. Plus, our confusion/disappointment that it’s had such a small global impact. When it gets onto streamers - we hope you all stream the **** out of it. We think you’ll love it.

A full transcript of this episode can be found here.

Keep up to date with us on Instagram, TikTok, Letterboxd and YouTube: @frankfilmclub

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