Polite Society review: A homegrown martial arts comedy that delivers a roundhouse kick to the heart

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But Polite Society, the debut feature of Nida Manzoor, creator of Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts, takes those squabbles to a new extreme. It’s that magical combination of emotional honesty and stylistic verve that makes Polite Society the type of cinematic event that you always hope will translate to concrete success at the box office, as it did for this year’s Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. Manzoor may speak in the same visual language as the action films Ria has hungrily consumed – many of them undoubtedly featuring her idol, real-life stunt performer Eunice Huthart, a veteran of GoldenEye, Titanic and V for Vendetta – but she still finds ways to ground her film in her protagonist’s own mundane reality. And with relative newcomer Kansara, naturally charismatic and instantly loveable, at Polite Society’s very centre – it’s easy to cheer on like Ria’s really out to save the planet.