MISBEHAVIOUR REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

It's hard to believe that it's rare to find a film like Misbehaviour, a film that is directed by a woman, written by women and stars women in the main roles. It's because of this why I wanted to see Misbehaviour. Prior to watching it, I was hoping for a solid drama and, fortunately, I wasn't disappointed.

follows the events of the 1970 Miss World competition, which saw the crowning of the first black competitor, Jennifer Hosten (Mbatha-Raw). However, the competition made headlines, not only because of Jennifer but, because the live broadcast was interrupted by the Women’s Liberation movement, which included Sally (Knightley) and Jo (Buckley). Misbehaviour also focuses on Eric (Rhys Ifans) and Julia Morley (Hawes), the married couple who were the co-founders of the Miss World pageant, and Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) who presented the show.

While I enjoyed the subplots involving Eric, Julia, Bob and his wife, Dolores (Lesley Manville), I found Misbehaviour to be at its most compelling when it was focusing on the Women’s Liberation movement and Sally and Jo. Both Knightley and Buckley are effective in their roles, with the latter leaving a lasting impression with her portrayal of Jo. While both Sally and Jo have different personalities (the former takes the Women's Liberation movement very seriously and the latter likes to cause trouble by spray painting messages on billboards), the two are able to overcome their differences and work together to interrupt the Miss World beauty pageant in order to get their voices heard. Mbatha-Raw is equally as impressive with her portrayal of Hosten, who was the first black woman to be crowned Miss World. While the Women's Liberation movement slated the Miss World beauty pageant for being sexist, Hosten's win marked a milestone in history and also meant that young black girls could finally feel beautiful. Following the interruption of the live broadcast, Sally is arrested but asks to use the bathroom which is where she meets Hosten who has just been crowned Miss World. Sally explains that the movement isn't angry at her, rather the way the show treats women and Hosten explains what her win means and Sally is able to see the show from Hosten's point of view. Because Misbehaviour only has a runtime of 106 minutes, not all the characters get enough screentime and I think that it would have benefitted from an extended runtime. 

What I liked about Misbehaviour was that it showed the beauty pageant from various point of views. It would have been easy to show the Miss World competition from the point of view of the women in the Women's Liberation movement, however, Misbehaviour includes the opinions of others involved in the show, including Hosten, the co-founders, Eric and Julia Morley and Bob Hope, who presented the show. While there's a lot of conflict between the characters, no one is portrayed as a villain or portrayed in a negative way. Although what the women in the WLM did was wrong, they aren't depicted as bad, rather just women who wanted to make a statement and have their voices heard. The married couple who co-founded the Miss World don't see anything wrong with the show as they simply wanted to create family friendly entertainment. Hope is known to many for being one of the most charming entertainers, however, Misbehaviour shows a different side to him. 

Misbehaviour effectively captures how big of an issue sexism was in 1970, with women being judged on how they looked and Hope making crude and sexist remarks in his speech. Sally makes valid points when she makes a television appearance and asks why women’s values and worth should be based on their looks. Unfortunately, the debate doesn't go down well, with Sally being described as a killjoy when she's actually making valid points. While changes have been made in the four decades since the events of Misbehaviour took place, sexism is still an ongoing issue in our society, unfortunately. That's why we need films like Misbehaviour which tell important stories about women. Misbehaviour benefits from having a team of women behind the camera, with Philippa Lowthorpe directing and Rebecca Frayn and Gaby Chiappe writing the screenplay. Together, they've created an engaging drama based on the true story of the women behind the Women's Liberation movement and the interruption of the live broadcast of the final of the Miss World beauty pageant in 1970.

At the time of Misbehaviour's release in mid-March 2020, the current ongoing coronavirus situation means that visiting the cinema isn't a priority, however, Misbehaviour is a film that is worth seeking out as it tells the inspiring story of the Women's Liberation movement and features a talented cast, with Keira Knightley, Jessie Buckley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw all impressing with their performances.
8/10