It's rare these days that you (out of the blue) find a minor gem of a film (maybe I'm just not looking in the right places!) .... one that captures the imagination, is original and made on a meagre budget, but first-time writer-director Anna Rose Holmer's short (70 minute) film may be just one such creation. The filmmaker takes the well-worn 'coming of age' drama - here featuring Royalty Hightower's 'life confused' 11-year old tomboy, Toni, looking to make the transition (feminisation?) from boxing to dancing - and turns it on its head, both stylistically with the film's distinctive (rather original) look-and-feel and narratively, as Toni and her fellow embryonic dancers succumb to a mystery 'illness' (with only tangential hints as to its potential underlying cause). Given the film's obviously limited budget, Rose Holmer's cast exude authenticity (OK, maybe, at times, belying their inexperience with line delivery) which, together with the film's depictions of intense physical activity, lend the drama an irresistible sense of youthful impetuousness and exuberance.
The authenticity at its most predictable end evokes Toni's longing to be accepted into the wider (and often more mature) clique of fellow dancers - whether it be the attraction of the glamour, banter, skill or (heaven forbid) talk of 'boys'. But it is Rose Holmer's overlaying of the film's sense of mystery - perhaps the epidemic of the 'fits' they are suffering is some sort of 'boyfriend disease', one of Toni's pals quips at one point (latent feminism at work?) - and this new directorial talent's obvious technical skill and originality that really separates The Fits from a more traditional approach to the genre. Rose Holmer demonstrates her visual sense repeatedly - Toni bopping away on a bridge in mesmerising fashion is a highlight, as is the film's 'climactic' sequence of Toni suffering her own 'attack', accompanied (quite brilliantly) by Kia Victoria's sublime song Aurora. Indeed, Rose Holmer's ear for atmospheric music is evident throughout, courtesy of Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' score, whose dissonance adds to the film's unsettling and mysterious atmosphere.
The most obvious comparator film that occurred to me is Carol Morley's 'mass fainting' equivalent in 2014's The Falling, but, in many ways (its visual innovation, for example), debutant Rose Holmer's film even outdoes Morley's creation for its originality.
The authenticity at its most predictable end evokes Toni's longing to be accepted into the wider (and often more mature) clique of fellow dancers - whether it be the attraction of the glamour, banter, skill or (heaven forbid) talk of 'boys'. But it is Rose Holmer's overlaying of the film's sense of mystery - perhaps the epidemic of the 'fits' they are suffering is some sort of 'boyfriend disease', one of Toni's pals quips at one point (latent feminism at work?) - and this new directorial talent's obvious technical skill and originality that really separates The Fits from a more traditional approach to the genre. Rose Holmer demonstrates her visual sense repeatedly - Toni bopping away on a bridge in mesmerising fashion is a highlight, as is the film's 'climactic' sequence of Toni suffering her own 'attack', accompanied (quite brilliantly) by Kia Victoria's sublime song Aurora. Indeed, Rose Holmer's ear for atmospheric music is evident throughout, courtesy of Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' score, whose dissonance adds to the film's unsettling and mysterious atmosphere.
The most obvious comparator film that occurred to me is Carol Morley's 'mass fainting' equivalent in 2014's The Falling, but, in many ways (its visual innovation, for example), debutant Rose Holmer's film even outdoes Morley's creation for its originality.