The Fits

Hard to pin down, but guaranteed to leave a mark.

What the movie lacks in narrative it makes up for in mood and invention.

Using a lot of real-life West End of Cincinnati dancers and athletes in the cast lends the film an authentic feel without ever feeling amateurish, and the specificity of Toni's story resonates outward.

[Holmer] and cinematographer Paul Yee infuse the community center, in and around which the entire film takes place, with elements of magical realism to accentuate the protagonist's passage from childhood into adolescence.

The movie is a nearly perfect thing, made with such assurance that every shot holds weight and widens your heart.

It's a curious world that Toni is entering, and Hightower's quiet watchfulness takes it all in.

Dreamy and enigmatic in the American-indie way.

Like Alfred Hitchcock before her, Holmer realises that a threat is most frightening when it wafts in at random, when it can't be explained.

Holmer finds beauty in the little details, from complex dance moves to a simple stare.

A slight but intense little film.

Holmer draws confident, luminous performances from the cast that rise to the occasion but never seem over-coached or phony.

The Fits celebrates young black women, with an accent on their bodies.