Philippa Lowthorpe’s
Misbehaviour recreates the disruption of the Miss World contest in London in 1970 – depicted as a fun-filled feat with far-reaching repercussions.
The battle lines are draw in the opening sequence with real footage of American entertainer Bob Hope cheering his country’s soldiers in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Hope’s act, a cocktail of comedy and sexism, includes parading Miss World winners before thousands of lusty soldiers. Hope is later portrayed by Greg Kinnear with a wandering eye and an outdated view of women as “girls”.
Meanwhile in London, Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley) struggles to be taken seriously at her history course at university. The fiery but prim Sally is an odd fit in a group of younger radical feminists who want to make a difference – emphatically.
Film Review | Misbehaviour raises a stink about eternal male establishment
The new British movie released in India on January 22 revisits the famous protest at the 1970 Miss World Beauty contest in London by women s rights activists.
Keira Knightley (left) and Jessie Buckley play the roles of protest leaders Sally Alexander and Jo Robinson.
In November 1970, members of a newly-formed women s liberation movement in London entered the Miss World beauty competition at the Royal Albert Hall to stage a protest against treating women as objects and ornaments. Disguised as members of the audience they threw flour bombs and stale vegetables at the organisers of the event watched by over 100 million people worldwide.