By Paul Hall
Change. Most individuals fear it, many of us need it and the world is a better place for many of the changes we have experienced over the years.
In 1970, the Miss World pageant found itself at the center of a movement. The Women’s Liberation Movement targeted the show and its blatant sexist attitudes. From the objectification of the contestants to the tone of the broadcast, everything about the show screamed that women were objects and nothing more.
But the era in London was filled with activists, and while some organized in hidden meetings, others tried to influence things by getting into the establishment and changing the world. Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley) focused her efforts at flexing her intellectual muscles in her fight. As one of the few women who attended college at the time, she wanted to go head-to-head with the male minds who dominated the universities. It was there she quickly learned she was simply a number while her voice was muted at best. Few, if any, men wanted to consider her thoughts.
While Alexander thought she could have the most influence by being a part of the system, women like Jo Robinson (Jessie Buckley) were working at street level. From posters to vandalism, they were changing the narrative one sign at a time, working in the streets one block at a time.
When Alexander combined her book smarts with Robinson’s street smarts, the two became a force that was ready to take on the world and led the charge to start with the Miss World pageant being held in London. The pageant was already under fire for admitting the first Black South African contestant. The chaos was just starting for show directors Eric and Julia Morley (Rhys Ifans and Keeley Hawes).
Misbehaviour not only deals with the women’s movement, but also touches on racism and doesn’t shy away from introducing those who believe differently, for their own reasons (some of which feel very altruistic). Gugu-Mbatha Raw is featured as Jennifer Hosten (Miss Grenada), whose role as a Black woman in an environment that favored her White competitors was a personal battle for relevance. Hosten’s own ambition for a broadcasting career drove her to try to use the pageant for her own purposes. She looked to the pageant as a springboard to stand out from the crowd.
The reality of 1970 led to celebrities like Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) hosting a pageant with a variety of jokes that blatantly objectified women and will be met by many of today’s viewers with shock and awe. To remember things like this were commonplace to the women of yesterday is so vitally important to the society of today.
Unfortunately, the whole of the film is a bit uneven and feels clunky. The storylines all deserve more treatment, and there are solid actors who go underutilized in roles that go almost nowhere. While it could have been much better, the film is still both fun and serious, topical yet light.
We’ve come a long way in the last 50 years, but there is further to go. Much like the struggles we are going through in society today, change does not happen overnight, but the acts of a few brave individuals can go a long way to changing the hearts and minds of the populace.
Paul’s Grade: B-
Misbehaviour
Not Rated
Stars: Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley, Greg Kinnear
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Misbehaviour — In limited theaters and Video On Demand NOW