The Fits is a very different movie, in the best way possible. It’s hypnotic in its down to earth, ultra realism take on its characters while also being an intriguing, and at times horrific, coming of age story. Director Anna Rose Holmer directs her first feature length with The Fits, which is about an 11 year old girl named Toni (played masterfully by Royalty Hightower in her first ever role as an actress), who is training in the boxing ring with her older brother (played by Da’Sean Minor) when, one day, she witnesses a dance team training right down the hall from the boxing room in their community recreational center. This fills Toni with a deep passion in dance, which inspires her to join. While on the team a mysterious illness called “The Fits” starts making waves through various dance members, and all the while Toni is stuck juggling boxing with her brother and the dance squad she is tied to.
If you’re looking for the main theme of the film, it’s right in the title. The Fits, not only describing the seizure like episodes these girls are having, but also the whole idea of “fitting in.” Stuck between two different worlds, Toni has various personal struggles, shown through numerous scenes showcasing the sometimes introspective world she is faced. These scenes are easily the most masterfully done scenes in The Fits, as Holmer lingers on these one-shot scenes a bit longer than usual and uses a fantastic, and probably going to be underrated forever, score carefully arranged by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaan, that really brings this film to points of tension where, when “the fits” really begins to overtake the dance team, everything starts to feel more like a horror film then a coming of age drama.
The best part of this film, though, is how it uses everything it has. With a mere 72 minute running time, The Fits is such a sigh of relief just coming out of a summer full of 2 and a half hour, muddled blockbusters, and Holmer knows how to use all the time to her advantage. Nothing felt rushed, nothing about this film felt forced or unnecessary at all. Everything seemed so carefully constructed by Holmer. All the shots are smooth, the transitions aren’t jarring and none of the performances or dialogue seems out of place. This whole movie is natural in the best way, from the very ultra realistic dialogue (which at times feels like a weird blend of Harmony Korine and Richard Linklater) to the swift cinematography.
For a first time actress, Royalty Hightower really knows how to make a role her own. Her performance of Toni is incredible in every way. She’s subtle and charismatic at the same time. When she dances, she brings more energy to the screen than most actresses I’ve seen this year, but when she’s in full on contemplation mode alone in the gym, the subtlety of her role really shines in this film. Hightower’s facial expressions and body language speak louder than any line of dialogue spoken in this film. Remember her name because I promise, without a doubt, she has a very bright future in her sights.
The Fits disguises itself in numerous blankets of genres; horror, drama, performance art, bottleneck, mumblecore, etc. Whatever weird concoction Holmer has created is perfect in every way. It’s easy to pick up on the surface level details that Holmer has created, as this film isn’t about much and doesn’t physically go to many places, but the amount of depth this film goes into psychologically is unbelievable. Hopefully in the future this film becomes a cult classic or something that is looked back on as a new standard in emotional story telling, but for now, The Fits will go down as an unseen classic. For that reason, if you are a fan of film and/or the art of: See. This. Movie.
The Fits
2015
dir. Anna Rose Holmer
72 min
