The Perfect Candidate Review: Haifaa Al-Mansour Examines Misogyny in Saudi Arabia with Political Crowdpleaser May 13, 2021 A lot has changed in Saudi Arabia since Haifaa Al-Mansour last made a film in her home country. Wadjda, Al-Mansour’s 2012 debut, was the first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, and since then she’s worked in the US ( Nappily Ever After) and UK ( The Perfect Candidate, Al-Mansour’s keenly observed new film, examines a society in which women are acclimatizing to increased agency but still have a long way to go to equal rights. A woman’s right behind the wheel hangs over the opening shot, which sees Dr. Maryam Alsafan (Mila Al Zahrani) drive up a muddy, disheveled road to the hospital where she works. Her shiny blue vehicle allows her the agency of traveling to and from work. Yet she still faces sexism on the job, such as when an elderly man refuses to be treated by her because she’s a woman, and demands that a less qualified male nurse tend to him instead. When her boss easily gives in to the man and commands that she “use male nurses” instead, Maryam pauses for a second, as if about to retort in anger, but stops herself. This is a woman used to facing misogyny and tired of trying to fight it with logic, her niqab handily hiding an incensed expression.