Signature Move

Signature Move is an impressive 2017 dramedy that seamlessly captures an array of diverse cultures in America's third largest city, Chicago. The unique blend of key themes such as love, identity, tradition, and wrestling, forms the backbone of this engaging film. The story pivots around Zaynab, played by Fawzia Mirza, a Pakistani-American immigrant, her encounter with love, and her efforts to reconcile her personal leanings with the deep-rooted customs inherent to her familial culture.

Leading the narrative is Zaynab, a diligent lawyer turned part-time wrestling student, who stays with her conservative, single mother. Her character embodies the complexity of struggle that arises from dichotomy - working a white-collar job while embracing the physicality of wrestling outside her professional life and being part of a deeply traditional community while trying to navigate her romantic desires. Mirza plays this beautifully crafted, multidimensional character with ample grace and evokes empathy from her audience.

Shabana Azmi, the acclaimed actress from India, breathes life into the character of Parveen, Zaynab's widowed, TV-obsessed mother. Parveen spends her days indoors watching soap operas and scanning the neighborhood with binoculars in search of a suitable husband for her daughter. Azmi's formidable acting skills bring out the nuances and humour of her character, providing for a richly detailed portrayal of an elder in the immigrant community.

The plot gains momentum when Zaynab's life crosses paths with the stunning and effervescent Alma, played by Sari Sanchez. Coming from a Mexican-American family, Alma is awash with charm and personality. Zaynab and Alma's enchanting love story unfolds against the backdrop of their own cultural and personal landscapes, and with the bewitching city of Chicago is their witness. The chemistry between the two is evident and captivates viewers as their relationship develops.

While romance forms an essential aspect of the plot, the movie takes an insightful approach into addressing issues around identity. The characters' dilemmas mirror the larger multicultural community's experiences and struggles to balance traditional views with contemporary societal norms.

One of the most compelling aspects of Signature Move is its innovative use of wrestling as a metaphor for the differing aspects of Zaynab's life. The wrestling ring becomes a mélange of both Zaynab's personal struggle and her exterior world - it's where her identity crisis clashes with the societal norms, infusing a powerful and captivating energy to the narrative.

Director Jennifer Reeder masterfully handles this blend of character arcs and broader themes without compromising any of the story's richness and depth. The cinematography of the film accentuates its theme, utilizing the diversity of the Chicago landscape to mirror the cultural blending occurring in the main character's life.

The script, penned by Mirza and Lisa Donato, offers a fresh and nuanced take on multiculturalism. Moreover, it beautifully captures the experience of a modern, queer Muslim woman - an underrepresented perspective generally in cinema. At its core, Signature Move, while detailed in its cultural annotations, resonates as a universal symbol for anyone who's faced the challenge of integrating their inherited traditions with their chosen paths in life.

What sweetens the narrative is the light humour sprinkled throughout the film, keeping it from becoming too sombre, yet not diluting the potent issues it tackles. This balance of emotions crafts the movie into a poignant and relatable portrait of multicultural life in America.

Signature Move, with its heartwarming storyline, impressive performances, and unique angle, invites us all to take a closer look at both the external world and our internal selves. It explores both the personal and the universal, providing an entertaining as well as thought-provoking cinematic experience.

This film is an important platform for spotlighting the experiences of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and multiculturalism within a context we often analogously witness but rarely deeply explore. Signature Move truly is a testament to the world cinema's power to transcend boundaries, both geographically and thematically. It is an engaging and eye-opening piece of cinema, fostering a powerful blend of tradition, love, and self-realisation.