With principal photography now underway, Pathe has unveiled the first image has been released from the upcoming comedy drama Misbehaviour. Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, the film tells the story of the disruption caused by the Women’s Liberation Movement during the 1970 Miss World contest and features Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer Hosten, the first black woman to be crowned Miss World.
In 1970, the Miss World competition took place in London, hosted by US comedy legend, Bob Hope. At the time, Miss World was the most-watched TV show on the planet with over 100 million viewers. Claiming that beauty competitions demeaned women, the newly-formed Women’s Liberation Movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage and disrupting the live broadcast of the competition. Not only that, 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. In a matter of hours, a global audience had witnessed the patriarchy driven from the stage and the Western ideal of beauty turned on its head.
Misbehaviour features a cast that includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keira Knightley, Jessie Buckley, Greg Kinnear, Lesley Manville, Keeley Hawes, Rhys Ifans, Phyllis Logan, Suki Waterhouse, Clara Rosager, Loreece Harrison, Emma Corin, Lily Newmark, Emma D’Arcy, Ruby Bentall, and Alexa Davies.
Originally published January 29, 2019. Updated January 28, 2019.
