TIFF 2023: Fitting In Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Fitting In (previously titled Bloody Hell) comes from Canadian filmmaker Molly McGlynn and centers around 16-year-old Lindy (Ziegler). When Lindy is diagnosed with a rare reproductive condition (MRKH syndrome), it disrupts her understanding of womanhood, sexual identity and her ultimate plans to have sex, while throwing her relationships with her new boyfriend Adam (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), her best friend Vivian (Amara) and mother (Hampshire) into complete disarray as she tries to navigate how to live with and understand this condition.

Fitting In tackles a lot of different topics that have rarely been presented on film before in the form of a funny, relatable, and effective part teen comedy and part coming-of-age film at the same time. Ziegler is a complete revelation, delivering what is arguably the best and most defining performance of her career thus far. She is the glue that holds the film together and absolutely crushes this role, perfectly selling all Of Lindy’s wildly different emotions. Watching her nearly self destruct and make a lot of wrong choices throughout the film makes Lindy feel all the more real and deeply human. Ziegler presents her in a relatable way without becoming unlikeable which a film with a weaker script could’ve easily done. She has been growing as an actress with each passing year and this finally gives her a great opportunity in a lead role that will undoubtedly open a lot more doors in her future.

The mother-daughter relationship between Ziegler and Hampshire as Lindy’s mother Rita will likely strike a chord with a lot of audiences and is much different than the norm for these types of films. Hampshire is a major standout and has some of the film’s funniest as well as most emotional moments, and the relationship between she and Ziegler so well because of their chemistry. The film as a whole is a lot sharper, smarter, and wiser teen sex comedy that offers so much more.

What keeps it from reaching great territory is its familiarity. Beyond a unique central premise, it’s also playing with familiar themes and situations feel pulled from other coming-of-age films. It also runs slightly too long at 104 minutes, thanks to a dragging third act. Meanwhile, it also suffers from some tonal inconsistencies.

In the end, Fitting In is rock solid and shows the audience a perspective rarely captured on film and doesn’t sugarcoat it or shy away from the harsher details of its subject matter. On top of being just an enjoyable coming-of-age dramedy, it has the potential to help, educate, and comfort a lot of people in the real world, and any film that can naturally do that gets bonus points.

*still courtesy of Elevation Pictures*

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/