Misbehaviour

Set in the lead up to the Miss World competition 1970, Misbehaviour tells the story of a group of feminist activists who hatch a plan to disrupt the competition and highlight the inequalities that it represents.

1970s Britain is beautifully realised here: from the outfits to the locations, there is little doubt about where we are. The production design here cannot be faulted, clearly a labour of love presented by someone with familiarity of the time. Misbehaviour is a charming recreation of 1970s Britain that really captures some of the rebellious spirit of the feminist movement.

Performances are strong across the board. Keira Knightley and Jessie Buckley have good chemistry and play off each other well, their characters uniting under a feminist banner despite having very different upbringings is a charming touch and certainly gives the film some heart. 

The supporting cast are no slouches either. Greg Kinnear puts a solid turn as Bob Hope and Leslie Manville is terrific as his long suffering wife. Credit should also go to the underused Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who injects some much-needed gravitas into the film with her strong portrayal of Jennifer Hoston, the first ever Miss Grenada. Its her scenes with Keira Knightley that are some of the films strongest — the clash between feminism and race representation presented here is a topic ripe for discussion. 

This brings us to one of the films problems: just as the film touches on weightier and slightly more awkward issues, it moves away from them as quickly as they are introduced. Relegating the most important topics to a mere throwaway conversation feels like a massive missed opportunity to say something of real meaning on a subject that’s rarely touched on and certainly lessens any impact the film was trying for.

That’s not the only issue here, though. Using comedy to deliver a powerful message is tried and tested formula but the comedy is so broad here, it mostly misses the mark. The jokes are tame to the point that they don’t really land; the majority of audiences will likely be left non plussed and frustrated at the light approach to the material.

It’s a real shame that Misbehaviour tries to pander to a mass audience. It’s not that it’s bad film, just an unremarkable one, and with the talent on display, that ultimately makes this something of a disappointment.