Gender identity, budding sexuality, and acceptance are handled with humor and a natural directness in writer/director Molly McGlynn’s engaging new film. With “Fitting In”, McGlynn has crafted a fresh and honest look at the life of a teenage girl, whose sexual awakenings are complicated by a life-changing medical diagnosis. Maddie Ziegler is “Lindy”, a high schooler dealing with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH), a rare congenital disorder that affects the female reproductive system. This condition is characterized by an underdeveloped vagina and a uterus that may be small or absent.
Lindy lives with her single mom “Rita” (Emily Hampshire), a therapist who accepts that she isn’t good at her profession. A talented track star, Lindy spends her days and nights with best friend Vivian (Djouliet Amara), talking about the normal things teens discuss; boys, sex, teachers, parties, etc.
Absolutely charming in the lead role, Ziegler’s performance is one of confidence and respect for the character that finds the actress never hitting a false dramatic beat, traversing Lindy’s myriad of emotions (frustration, desire, confusion, and sense of humor) with skillful ease. Ziegler finds a natural chemistry with Hampshire and Amara and in her tender relationship with potential boyfriend, “Adam”, played with a genuine innocence by D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai.
McGlynn’s screenplay (and the performances she gets from her excellent cast) give Lindy’s relationships with her peers a lived-in feel. These aren’t the hackneyed portrayals of today’s youth, but realistic teenagers trying to navigate life and everything it throws their way.
Ziegler’s distinctive performance compliments this well-written character that exists in a film of many layers, as Lindy’s relationships with her mom, Vivian, Adam, and especially Jax (Ki Griffin), a confident intersex classmate, have much to say regarding the importance of connections.
McGlynn guides these characters through Lindy’s life with an innate understanding of what she is going through, while the honesty of her screenplay gives the film a refreshing intimacy. The filmmaker sidesteps pathos and finds empathetic humor in the ways Lindy self-educates herself about her condition. The humility and embarrassment of certain things she must do are handled with care; the humor coming from Lindy’s disposition.
Many in the medical profession have a cold demeanor, while being a teen girl dealing with a male doctor who speaks frankly about sex is unfathomable. This is Lindy’s plight and it echoes millions of young women who have been accustomed to a type of healthcare that is more clinical than personal. McGlynn’s film seeks to remove the stigma attached to gynecological health and examinations by helping Lindy normalize and feel comfortable with something that every woman (young or old) must go through.
“Fitting In” is a carefully balanced, sweet, and curious coming-of-age tale crafted with sensitivity. Through its sincere look at one teenager’s life and the people who exist within it, the film and its subject play very well in our current era of recognition and acceptance of gender and fluid sexual identity. Concurrently, the screenplay takes aim at the medical profession and its treatment of women throughout all the stages of their lives.
Molly McGlynn is to be commended for such a generous and movingly honest work.
Fitting In
Written and Directed by Molly McGlynn
Starring Maddie Ziegler, Emily Hampshire, Djouliet Amara, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai
R, 105 Minutes, Elevation Pictures
