Growing up is terrifying and in most coming of age films, this fear is rationalized through practical trials and tribulations, be they navigating relationships, overcoming traumatic events or simply dealing with the new responsibilities that come with adolescence. In reality, there is often something more abstract behind that fear, beyond of the concrete challenges we are faced with – a countdown towards something inescapable and permanent that we can’t fully comprehend. In this elegant feature debut, director Anna Rose Holmer evades traditional story conventions of the genre with a metaphysical approach that expressively captures this internal journey.
Royalty Hightower stars as Toni, a stoic young girl who trains with her older brother Jermaine (Da’Sean Minor) at the boxing gym in their local community center. She soon discovers and becomes drawn to a group of dancers, predominantly consisting of other girls her age, who occupy another gym in the venue. Silently observing them from a distance during one of their practices, Toni is enraptured, as if a new color has been added to her world. After receiving a few words of encouragement from her brother, she decides to try out for the team. Mystery ensues when a team captain is suddenly struck down by an apparent seizure that puts her in the hospital. This becomes a recurring phenomenon as others also face these unexplained fits which seem to be claiming each of the girls one by one. Whilst carving out a place for herself in her newfound sisterhood, Toni wrestles with the dread of knowing that at some point, she will be next.
The atmosphere that fills every scene of “The Fits” is nothing short of transfixing and it is largely down to Royalty Hightower’s powerful presence and how well Toni’s perspective is conveyed through Paul Yee’s cinematography. The character feels removed from the other girls and, at first, out of her element when she is among them. Many scenes frame this alienation beautifully – whether it’s Toni begrudgingly carrying boxing equipment into the center alone as an ecstatic stampede of girls races past her or Toni silently eavesdropping on the conversations of older girls from inside a bathroom stall. Hightower’s acute mannerisms and body language build an aura that speaks with volume that more than compensates for her limited dialogue and makes Toni the dominant presence regardless of her surroundings in any scene. The camerawork intensifies this energy and is just as hypnotic, gliding smoothly and delicately like an observer wary of disturbing its subject.
For all its beguiling atmosphere and graceful execution, it is the central allegory that makes this film something special. The premise reads like a horror plot but functions as an inventive and profound metaphor for growing up. Even after she begins to find her feet, mastering the dance routines that she initially struggled with and making a few friends, the spread of the seizures sees Toni isolated once more. It is at this point that the meaning of this outbreak becomes most clear. The other girls bond by sharing stories of their own unique experiences with the fits whilst Toni is cut out, still running away from the thought of it happening to her. The character has come this far by dancing to her own beat and forging her own belonging and now deals with the truth – that this will be a trial that is bespoke to her and she will have to overcome it for herself even if she is afraid. Every child has to navigate their own path and whilst they face their own distinct hurdles, the inner growth along their journey equips them with the ability to triumph. This is an inspired portrait of the rite of passage that is adolescence and more specifically, the journey for young girls into womanhood.
Although the restrained nature of “The Fits” may mean that it is too understated to seize and retain attention for some, this is a cathartic watch that rewards on an emotional level. Holmer’s elegant swansong to girlhood is nothing short of magical. In 70 minutes, this film weaves a spell that prevails for far longer. The goosebumps-inducing final sequence alone has not left my mind since I first saw it and Toni’s metamorphosis is unlikely to do so any time soon.
