In 1970, the Miss World beauty competition was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The competition was watched by millions all over the world and was seen as a symbol of femininity and beauty. However, a group of women from the newly formed Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) decided to disrupt the event as they believed it was an outdated and sexist display of female objectification.
The group, led by Sally Alexander (Keira Knightley), planned their protest against the beauty competition by studying the contest's rules and discovering that only married or engaged women were allowed to compete. The group then created their own beauty contest, the "Miss World Liberation" pageant, open to all women regardless of marital status.
The Miss World beauty competition was hosted by celebrity presenter Bob Hope (Greg Kinnear) and sponsored by global conglomerate, Mecca. When the WLM's protest began to gain momentum, national and international media started taking notice. They focused on the controversial nature of the protest and how it played out during the live show.
As the two pageants collided, the clash of two different feminist ideologies was played out in front of millions globally, causing widespread debate about gender politics and sexual discrimination.
Misbehaviour is a movie that revisits a moment in history that exposed the power dynamics of a society in flux, where Marianne (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) found herself torn between her commitment to the cause and her desire to be taken seriously as an individual. The film directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, is a celebration of the courage and resilience of those brave women who stood up against social inequality in a country still coming to terms with the changing times.