Review: "Joyland"
A potent, well-acted depiction of societal gender dynamics with measured visual storytelling.
Ali Junejo and Alina Khan in Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland.” (Oscilloscope Pictures)
When Joyland made the Best International Feature shortlist for the 95th Academy Awards, it became the first Pakistani feature to do so. Although it sadly didn’t make the final cut, it getting as far as it did after overcoming the hurdle involving the initial country-wide release ban in Pakistan that nearly prevented it from Oscar competition remains a win itself. Furthermore, Joyland is also worth acknowledging because it’s simply a well-made film.
Writer/director Saim Sadiq’s feature film debut is an exceptional illustration of gender dynamics and trying to find happiness while living under strict patriarchal rule. At the film’s center is Haider (Ali Junejo), a sensitive man who gets a job as a backup dancer at an erotic dance theater, becoming infatuated with show runner Biba (Alina Khan) in the process.
Meanwhile, as Haider becomes more occupied by his job, his wife Mumtaz (a spellbinding Rasti Farooq) struggles with her lack of independence. Forced to quit her job and set her dreams aside once Haider becomes employed, Mumtaz becomes distraught with her desolation as she’s forced to act as a stay-at-home wife and pressured to have a son. Her sister-in-law Nucchi (Sarwat Gilani), an enabler of their family’s traditionalist values, then serves as one of the few people she interacts with in her daily life.
Haider’s constant physical absence from the house results in him being chided by his brother Saleem (Sohail Sameer) for not being the alpha-male husband those in the family want him to be. Yet, to come out of his shell and find personal satisfaction, Haider relents with his quiet resilience that is well-captured by Ali Junejo. Even without words, Junejo flawlessly conveys Haider’s reluctance to embrace being a dominant masculine figure.
As for Alina Khan, the film’s breakout star, she offers both star magnetism and searing vulnerability as Biba. With the smallest imposing line reading, her Biba always demands one’s respect as she navigates living in a society that regularly shuns trans women like herself. Khan’s acting similarly lives through her physical dancing like in an early scene at the dance theater. Right when Biba appears on stage, the audience starts leaving. But Biba still keeps thrusting and dancing her heart out.
Moments like that are also a strong testament to the screenplay from Saim Sadiq which emphasizes on actions as much as verbal exposition to tell the story. The camerawork by DP Joe Saade acts as its own chronicler like when it captures Haider spontaneously moving his body during a dance practice to reflect how he’s finally bursting out of his shy bubble.
However, despite the script’s commentary on gender dynamics and women seeking control and autonomy within a patriarchal regime, it does become hindered by the female characters becoming gradually sidelined. Although Biba is the primary female character with pure agency and command of every scene she appears in, we still mostly see her through Haider’s point of view.
Nevertheless, Joyland remains a potent, well-acted gem packed with measured visual storytelling. Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, and especially Rasti Farooq give three of the year’s best performances and help successfully guide what is a promising debut from Saim Sadiq.
Grade: B+