Movie review: Misbehaviour

Keira Knightley in her new film Misbehaviour, in cinemas now. Photo: Supplied.

A killer line up of acting talent drives this ensemble dramedy about a real incident surrounding the 1970 Miss World pageant in London.

Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley) is a graduate student who has joined up with a feminism activist group led by Jo Robinson (rising Irish actor Jessie Buckley).

Empowered by the nascent Women's Liberation movement in England, they resolve to protest against the objectivism of the Miss World pageant by interupting the ceremony live on television in front of millions of global viewers.

Facing pressure from anti-apartheid groups, the pageant is featuring a black South African, Pearl Jansen (Loreece Harrison) for the first time. The special guest for that year is Bob Hope (played by Greg Kinnear with an insane prosthetic nose), whose regressive comments about feminism end up spurring the protesters into action on the night. The great Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) plays Mrs Hope.

Misbehaviour was partially inspired by a memoir by the pageant's eventual winner Jennifer Hosten (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw from The Morning Show), from the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada. It's not hard to see the appeal of telling this story, with its potent intersection of feminist and racial issues that remain disturbingly pertinent today.

There is humour and power in the telling, especially during the denouement, which packs a considerable emotional wallop. But the film spreads its story across so many characters (including Miss World boss Eric Morley and his wife/partner Julia, played by Rhys Ifans and Keeley Hawes) that the overall impact feels a little compromised.

It would have benefited from more time spent with almost everyone featured, especially the scrappy Jo, who is vividly brought to life by Buckley in a performance a world apart from her fine work in the recent Netflix film I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Mbatha-Raw also shines greatly here.

Cast:Keira Knightley, Greg Kinnear, Keeley Hawes
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Rating: M (Offensive language)
Running time: 107 mins
Verdict: Entertaining if unspectacular account of a fulcrum moment in social history.