The Fits
Oscilloscope | Release Date: June 3, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
90
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 21, 2016
The Fits is what independent moviemaking should be and can be in this country. Like its heroine, it’s slight but it’s built to last. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerMolly EichelJun 24, 2016
Like its lead Royalty Hightower, whose performance is just as spectacular as her name, The Fits is impossible to look away from. It's gorgeous, poetic, and opaque, and I've never seen any other movie like it. Read full review
100
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 23, 2016
In addition to her exquisite eye for casting, Holmer knows how to film actors and environments in ways that are expressive enough to make up for her minimal dialogue. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 9, 2016
Made by a first-time feature director working with a microscopic budget and a tiny, 11-year-old protagonist, it’s a 72-minute wonder, a self-assured, gently mysterious little film that is hypnotic in unexpected ways. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 2, 2016
The miracle of the movie is that, like Toni, it transcends blunt, reductive categorization partly because it’s free of political sloganeering, finger wagging and force-fed lessons. Any uplift that you may feel won’t come from having your ideas affirmed, but from something ineluctable – call it art. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 2, 2016
All ups with no downs, it’s a motion picture in the truest sense of the term. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and I loved every one of its 72 minutes. Read full review
91
The VergeTasha RobinsonJun 3, 2016
Plenty of films give the viewers far more information and still wind up feeling opaque and distanced from the characters' lives. But The Fits is all about the experience of the moment, and it winds up feeling remarkably immersive and lyrical. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJun 1, 2016
Without ever saying exactly what her heroine is thinking, Holmer captures a lot of what she’s feeling. And what Toni’s going through should be familiar to anyone who had an awkward puberty — which is to say, nearly everyone. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 23, 2016
Genuine, honest, thrilling. Read full review
90
TheWrapRobert AbeleJun 3, 2016
Though it deals with complicated emotions surrounding acceptance and individuality, Holmer’s movie, which she wrote with Saela Davis and Lisa Kjerulff, is a model of control, not unlike its strong, watchful central character. Read full review
90
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJun 1, 2016
For all the film's aestheticism, there's a clarity to this child's dilemma — conveyed ably by Hightower, who is a unique kind of actress. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 16, 2016
The Fits is more than a transporting film experience. It's cinema poetry in motion. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJun 3, 2016
An effective and creepy-surreal film. Read full review
83
ConsequenceAllison ShoemakerJun 2, 2016
It’s quiet and strange and simple. It’s also unforgettable, in ways that can be easily named and in others that can’t. Read full review
83
The Film StageJohn FinkJan 29, 2016
The Fits is a haunting psychological and philosophical portrait of childhood and socialization. Largely succeeding, the picture takes on a subject no less than the discovery of self: both the imagined and the real. Read full review
80
CineVueMatthew AndersonFeb 23, 2017
The Fits is slimmed down but Holmer achieves a great deal with economical, nuanced storytelling where no image or sound is without meaning. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeslie FelperinFeb 23, 2017
Holmer draws confident, luminous performances from the cast that rise to the occasion but never seem over-coached or phony. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonEllie Walker-ArnottFeb 23, 2017
The Fits is abstract and atmospheric, intense and surprisingly emotional. There are few explanations in this short tale. It’s hard to pin down, but guaranteed to leave a mark. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 29, 2016
The Fits is a lovely character portrait, abstract and yet highly evocative, given an other-worldly feel by deft use of slow-mo, sinuous tracking sequences and music that ranges from ambient drones to discordant strings and the percussive claps, clicks and stomps of the drill routines. Read full review
80
Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyJan 29, 2016
In a scant 72 minutes and in a few locations, Holmer has found a dignity in her appealing subjects, and a mystery. Read full review
80
VarietyNick SchagerJan 29, 2016
Even at its conclusion, Holmer’s film refuses to provide easy answers regarding its meaning, instead using poised formal techniques to impart that which is not spoken — and, in the process, portends impressive things to come from its confident, capable director. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisJun 16, 2016
This beautifully shot film (kudos to cinematographer Paul Yee) could have easily been an incoherent mess, but Holmer keeps her lyrical movie under control at all times. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaMar 11, 2016
This singular mix of character study and mysterious mood piece might not have come off quite so successfully if not for Royalty Hightower's internal performance. Read full review
67
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicJan 29, 2016
There's vision here, clearly, and through the use of eye-catching frames and a standout score, "The Fits" works like magic as an experimental performance piece. As an engaging work of well-rounded cinema, however, there are more than a few missteps. Read full review
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