"The Fits" Hits Feminism Young

A tomboy boxer turns dance team girl, and it's beautiful to watch.

Director Anna Rose Holmer's first feature film, The Fits, introduces a young, tomboy boxer named Toni (Royalty Hightower) and her struggle to fit in. When Toni pivots from boxing and joins an all-girl dance team, the Lionesses, she's lost in the lip gloss and girly-girl attitude of the dancers. Holmer's film never loses its punch, though. Drawing on slow-motion shots of workouts, dance scenes, and mysterious fainting spells that begin to afflict the dancers, the director avoids the cutesy approach to preteen struggles that we usually expect from such films. In the best scenes, dancers take over urban areas, like a highway overpass, with their heavy breathing echoing across the cityscape as the camera pans out.

Not Rated.

Critic's Grade: A-

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