Irish actress Jessie Buckley (‘Wild Rose,’ ‘Beast,’ ‘Taboo’) has scored a role alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw (‘Come Away’) and Keira Knightley (‘Colette’) in ‘Misbehaviour,’ the new comedy-drama from two-time BAFTA winner Philippa Lowthorpe (‘The Crown,’ ’ Swallows and Amazons’).
Featuring a script by Rebecca Frayn, with revisions by Gaby Chiappe, the film is based on an inspirational true story: 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.
The film is being produced for Left Bank Pictures by Suzanne Mackie (The Crown, Calendar Girls) and by Sarah-Jane Wheale. Executive Producers include Andy Harries and Rebecca Frayn of Left Bank; and Cameron McCracken and Jenny Borgars over at Pathé.