Polite Society Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Polite Society Blu-ray Movie Review

I am the fury.

Nida Manzoor's 'Polite Society' makes its debut on Blu-ray disc courtesy of Universal. It comes outfitted with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There aren't any special features on the disc, but it does come with an embossed and spot-glossed slipcover and a Digital Code.

What do you get when you take the primary story beats from a heist movie and drop them into a film about a teenage girl trying to stop her older sister from marrying the wrong man? You get the ridiculously entertaining and unexpected Polite Society. Written and directed by Nida Manzoor, the film moves quickly and is focused as much on laughs as it is on action. Priya Kansara (Bridgerton) stars as Ria, a high school student who trains in martial arts and has aspirations of becoming a professional stuntwoman. She's even got her sights set on arranging an internship with England's premier stuntwoman. Her best friend in the world is her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya, Umbrella Academy, Humans) who has recently left art school and is looking either for inspiration or the next thing. In her spare time, she helps her sister with her martial arts and records bits for her to post on her channel, "Khan-Fu". When the girls are invited along to a party of a wealthy family, the mother of which is friendly with their mother, everything starts to unravel. Lena begins to spend all of her time with the wealthy family's son, who just happens to be a handsome doctor who is clearly looking for a wife. Ria, however, refuses to let Lena choose marriage over a career as an artist, so she enlists the help of two of her friends to break up the couple.

It's here that the heist elements infiltrate and dominate the picture, albeit with a twist. Ria and her friends don disguises, infiltrate "hostile" territory, snatch a key piece of tech and replace it before it's missed, make extensive use of earpieces, and break out into a surprising number of martial arts battles. These tropes, and a number more that I will not spoil here, which normally feel a bit tired and rote, are pleasantly refreshed by placing them in a struggle between two sisters and having them carried out by high school girls who are obviously only doing what they're doing because they've seen some of the same movies we have. They don't have a well-thought-out master plan. They don't have a financier to bankroll expensive tech gear to use in their schemes. And they also don't have any experience. None of those things, though, are going to stop Ria and her friends from springing into action. All of their exploits play out over a funky, multicultural, spy music infused and influenced soundtrack that helps sustain and propel the action.

As the film progresses, the action builds, the pace accelerates, and weirdness is amplified, as Ria and her nemesis head toward their inevitable showdown. What works in the film's favor is the energy and commitment that Kansara and Arya bring to their roles. Kansara's physicality is very convincing as she works to perfect a particularly difficult acrobatic kick made famous by her idol, often failing with hilarious results thanks to her keen comedic timing. But she's equally competent in the more serious and down-and-dirty moments of the film's many fight sequences. Arya is also rather adept at handling action due in large part, I suspect, to her tenure on Umbrella Academy, though she is pressed into fights with far less frequency. The chemistry between the two women is obvious as they play out the many layers, intricacies, and emotions of an entirely convincing sisterly relationship. Humor is used to great effect. When Ria and her friends undertake their heist-like activities, they do them as teens would. Their disguises are preposterous, their tech skills are suspect, and their bravado and overconfidence are spot on. So, too, are Ria's actions after she is unable to separate her sister and her betrothed by more conventional and reasonable means.

Polite Society also spends a considerable amount of time focused on the notion of parental expectations. Ria's parents are all in favor of her education and her martial arts training, though neither of them is particularly supportive of her ambition to be a stuntwoman. Since she's still in school, she has not yet had the chance to really disappoint her parents, but it is clear that they wish her to follow what they consider to be a more sensible and traditional career path. She's potentially a disappointment in the making. Lena, her sister, is a disappointment. She's dropped out of art school and is unable to motivate herself to paint. Some days, it seems, simply taking a shower is an accomplishment her parents are willing to celebrate. It's no wonder that they are so enthusiastic about her marriage to a young doctor from a wealthy family, as it provides an opportunity for her to rectify her situation, gain social status, and have an identity beyond that of an art school dropout. As it turns out, Lena's fiancé, Salim (Akshay Khanna) is also something of a disappointment. He may be a doctor, but his mother takes several opportunities to comment on how much she's sacrificed to raise him and get him where he is today. She makes it very clear he wouldn't have been successful without her. The fact that none of the three leads are quite measuring up in their parents' eyes is remarkable, as Ria is not lacking in ambition or drive, Salim has already met with some degree of success, and Lena, while she seems a bit lost at the moment, also shows great potential - she just needs a bit of time and direction. Do we owe it to our parents to be what they wish us to be, or do we serve them best by being who we feel we need to be? This film seems to endorse the latter.

Polite Society Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Polite Society's Blu-ray presentation is quite pleasing. The film is a veritable riot of color, with bright greens, reds, blues, and golds populating most scenes. Thankfully, colors are nicely saturated and stable. Fine detail is universally high and frequently enables us a chance to pick out the specifics in busy kitchens, bedrooms filled with knick-knacks, and the mansion's lavish interiors. Costumes are a particularly significant beneficiary of the heightened detail levels. While several characters wear elaborate and ornate clothes during the course of the film, few rival the dresses worn by the two leads at the climax of the film. Kansara's brilliant green dress yields the opportunity to inspect its rich embroidery and we similarly are afforded the chance to see the craftsmanship of her jewelry. Arya's wedding dress is even more spectacular, sporting an immense amount of precise beadwork and embroidery. Skin tones are very healthy and natural looking across all members of the cast. Black levels are satisfying and never crush detail.

Polite Society Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The English DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track present on Polite Society is much more functional than it is fancy. Dialogue is clear, properly positioned front and center, and is never drowned out by music or sound effects. Directionality proves to be good when those moments arise. Music typically accompanies the film's many fights and is occasionally allowed to dominate the track, but in all instances, whether softly enhancing mood or muscularly pushing the energy of a fight, it is always rendered cleanly and with great fidelity. Some of the film's most immersive moments are just some of those big musical swells, with the surrounds firing to life and the sub hammering the beat with authority. However, such boisterously immersive moments are the exception and not the rule, and typically we are presented with more subdued atmospherics from the surrounds that add a bit of texture or ambiance rather than sonic force. Breaking glass, splintering wood, punches, kicks, and the odd gunshot are reproduced with the right amount of weight and authenticity. No audio defects were detected. English SDH subtitles are also available.

Polite Society Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Polite Society does not come with any special features.

Polite Society Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I've been a fan of Ritu Arya's for some time now, I was not prepared for how much fun I had with her in Polite Society. Heist movies are ten a penny, and it takes something unusual to break the mold and provide fresh life and excitement into a typically predictable exercise. It was "the usual" I was ready for. But this film isn't "the usual". By mixing in all the elements we know and love from heist films into a seemingly low-stakes plot about two young sisters, this story rewards us with unexpected wit, charm, action, and a few surprises. Both Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya give fantastic performances here, and while they are surrounded by a solid cast, they are the ones who make the film as entertaining as it is. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from these two newer talents, and from Manzoor as well. Graced with a very good transfer and a solid audio track, Polite Society comes Highly Recommended.