Misbehaviour was a film that I knew I would love from the moment I heard about it. It features an amazing cast, follows the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) that I wrote a 10,000 word dissertation on and looks at an interesting event in history that really put the women's movement on the map.
Both times I saw this film, I was blown away. It does an incredible job of telling these amazing women's stories. It explores the ingrained sexism that was rampant in the 60s and 70s and even touches on racism and the apartheid. It is one of those rare films where i felt full immersion, didn't find myself watching the clock to see how long was left. I was so immersed at times that I practically forgot I was in the cinema.
The cast are outstanding with Kiera Knightley leading the film as frustrated Sally Alexander. Struggling to balance her home life and studying history at UCL where doors are closed on her at every turn and she is laughed out of most conversations. Knightley plays the role perfectly. As her fury at society's expectations for what she should be doing and how she should be behaving grows, so does the audiences. Jessie Buckley shines, as usual, as Jo Ann Robinson, a women already leading what would have been considered an 'unusual life.' Her attitudes towards the world couldn't be more different to Sally Alexander's but with the same goal in mind, they join forces to become quite the duo. Knightley and Buckley have excellent chemistry and it helps to really sell the friendship eventually developed Buckley is one to watch with all her performances being an absolute joy to watch, most notably her role in 2018s 'Wild Rose.'
One thing I found especially interesting about this film was how many of the participants of the Miss World competition viewed the pageant. Pageant competitors are so often presented as beautiful but unintelligent women and this was totally flipped on it's head.
Rather than being solely concerned with winning the title itself, they were so much more interested in the doors it would open for them in life or the impact it would have for young girls. There were many conversations the women had about their dreams in life and how winning the competition could help them achieve these dreams. The most notable being the conversations between Sally Alexander and Jennifer Hosten. In the wake of winning Hosten tells Alexander how she would be pleased to have her (Alexander's) choices in life - it was a real poignant moment that brought attention to the discriminations that Hosten would have faced as a woman of colour compared to Alexander's freedoms as a white British woman.
Costume design was also on point. The design of the competitors dresses, along with hair and make up was amazing. The especially great think was the design of costumes for the WLM members, specifically those living in the commune. They were constantly switching outfits but in a subtle way with hats and gloves making a switch. Not something especially noticeable but a nice touch to push home the commune living lifestyle.
I don't want to go to much further into everything because otherwise I may as well write a detailed synopsis! But I will end by saying this film is honestly a must watch from me. It tells the story of an exciting moment in history and shows just how far the WLM has come. It has an absolutely fantastic cast at the helm and makes you feel a whole array of emotions
Rebecca:
Rating : 9/10
The first day the cinema opened I was straight in to see Misbehaviour as a couple of my friends were raving on how good it was, and to be honest, by looking at the trailer I already knew that I was going to love it. The film is based around a true story in 1970 London. The story is based and flows through Sally Alexander. Played by Kiera Knightley, Sally was a divorced mother who was about to embark on a university degree in history, when she met a few women at a women’s liberation group talk. These women ended up being her companions when they invaded and protested the Miss World Competition 1970.
While I could write a lot of the synopsis, I won’t, just because there are a lot of intricacies and sub-stories from secondary characters which add up to the whole film. this movie touches upon way more than just women’s equality. There are other issues raised such as race, gender norms, women in education, amongst many more. Theres a really important scene towards the end of film where Sally and her mother are discussing the role of a mother, and how Sally is trying to change expectations and how society’s norm is that the mother is at home cooking and cleaning etc. Sally is not willing to accept this as her pathway and is fighting for equality change.
In terms of performances Keira Knightley was absolutely perfect for me. I think that she actually is my favourite actress - she always seems to take on really inspirational characters. The way in which she allowed Sally to develop was breathtaking you could sense in the beginning that she wanted to break out but was slightly unsure on how that was going to pan out. Also we can’t go without mentioning Jessie Buckley in the role of Jo Robinson. She was wild she was outspoken she was everything that Sally needed to experience. Even though their friendship was kind of tactile in places, it was necessary.
There are so many other actors who really played their characters very well, too many to even mention. I do urge everyone to go and see this film. The storytelling is incredible and character development unlike any film I’ve seen in some time. It will open your eyes to see how important this event was in many women’s lives and the ongoing battle for equality.
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