Misbehaviour is a 2020 British comedy-drama film directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, from a screenplay by Gaby Chiappe and Rebecca Frayn, from a story by Frayn. The film stars Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley, Keeley Hawes, Phyllis Logan, Lesley Manville, Rhys Ifans and Greg Kinnear.
Misbehaviour was released in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2020 by Pathé's distribution partner Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through their 20th Century Fox banner. It is the final film from Pathé UK to be released under the 20th Century Fox name.
Premise
The 1970 Miss World competition took place in London, hosted by the American comedian Bob Hope. At that time Miss World was the most-watched TV show in the world with over 100 million viewers. Arguing that beauty competitions objectify women, the newly formed women's liberation movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage and disrupting the live broadcast of the competition. When the show resumed, the result caused uproar: the winner was not the Swedish favourite but Miss Grenada, the first black woman to be crowned Miss World.
Cast
Production
The film was announced in October 2018, with Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessie Buckley set to star. Philippa Lowthorpe was set to direct. In November 2018, Lesley Manville, Greg Kinnear, Keeley Hawes, Rhys Ifans and Phyllis Logan had joined the cast of the film. In September 2018 Collet Collins joined the cast, and in January 2019 Suki Waterhouse and Clara Rosager joined.
Filming
Principal photography began in November 2018. Filming in the Crofton Park area of Lewisham in southeast London occurred in early January 2019.
Release
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2020. Shout Studios was named as the distributor in the United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's theatrical release was cut short, and the film was released early to video on demand in the United Kingdom on 15 April.
The movie was released on DVD in the United Kingdom by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on 7 September 2020. As of 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment was re-printing under licence from Pathé.
The film was inspired by an edition of the BBC Radio 4 series The Reunion, broadcast in September 2010.{ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000h25d}
Reception
Box office
Misbehaviour grossed £347,643 in its opening weekend in the United Kingdom and a total of £455,088 locally and $2,024,073 worldwide.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Misbehaviours overall arc will be familiar to fans of feelgood British cinema – and so will the way it triumphs over formula to tell a thoroughly crowd-pleasing story." On Metacritic, it has a score of 62, based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Richard Roeper wrote, "Following the playbook of 'The Full Monty,' 'Calendar Girls,' 'Military Wives,' et al., 'Misbehaviour' achieves just the right mix of farcical humor, dry wit and the obligatory dramatic moments when the light banter and sight gags give way to Poignant Confrontations reminding us there are serious undertones to this breezy romp."
Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com of the film gave a mixed review. Though O'Malley praised screenwriters Rebecca Frayn and Gaby Chiappe for focusing on the intersecting stories of both the protesters and pageant competitors, she noted "it's treated as a given that pageants are sexist and gross, [yet] the scenes of pageant rehearsals plus the camaraderie of the contestants tells a different story. The separate storyline structure runs into trouble because these ideas don't have a chance to develop or take root."
