The Obsessive Viewer

• Director: Molly McGlynn
• Writer: Molly McGlynn
• Cast: Maddie Ziegler, Emily Hampshire, Djouliet Amara, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Ki Griffin

Molly McGlynn’s Fitting In is a teen coming of age film with a lot of heart and a unique perspective. When 16 year old Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) is diagnosed with a reproductive disorder called MRKH, which essentially means she was born with an underdeveloped vagina, her life spirals out of her control. In Lindy’s particular medical case, her uterus is completely absent and her vaginally canal is extremely shortened. Coming at a time when she’s expecting her first period and considering having sex for the first time, this diagnosis causes Lindy to grapple with her sense of identity, her perspective on gender, and her understanding of femininity as she navigates this new and unexpected aspect of her life.

As a coming of age story, Fitting In absolutely stands out as Lindy navigates her life in light of this diagnosis. It’s certainly unique in that MRKH is not a widely known condition and, by its very nature, it completely upends Lindy’s life at a time when she is at her most emotionally vulnerable. But Fitting In also stands out in the way it handles Lindy’s relationships with her friends, her boyfriend, and her mother. There’s an undeniable authenticity to the way Lindy approaches difficult emotional moments that are heightened by her medical condition, which she keeps private from the majority of people in her life. This dynamic allows Maddie Zieglerto dig deep into the character’s angst in a way that never veers into melodrama. Nor does it come across as your garden variety rebellious and emotional teen angst.

And while a considerable amount of time is spent on Lindy’s social relationships, it’s her relationship with her mother Rita (Emily Hampshire) that provides a particularly poignant window into what Lindy is going through. Rita is a single mother as well as a breast cancer survivor who recently inherited a house from her deceased mother. Rita’s own hardships and emotional pain is written subtly into the script and performed with a quiet fervor by Hampshire. At all times, Fitting In knows the story it’s telling is that of a young woman who feels she’s been genetically robbed of what she perceives as the things that define her womanhood. But it’s particularly admirable to see Rita’s story play out in the background as Lindy’s frustrations and angst bump up against Rita’s own deep-seated pain and fears. When Lindy and Rita finally have a heart to heart moment where the emotions for both reach the surface, it’s electric with performances by Hampshire and Ziegler that bring the journeys of both women home with nuance and poignancy.

To contrast that emotional drama, the urge for Lindy to engage in self-destructive behavior in light of her diagnosis is also explored throughout the film. This works well for the narrative as it showcases Lindy’s desire to not only feel a sense of control over her life but to also reclaim some sense of normalcy as well. She makes poor and impulsive decisions as a means to deflect from the difficult road that lies ahead. Namely, she initiates romantic encounters with a guy she meets at a diner. This subplot is all about Lindy’s misguided attempt at reclaiming ownership of her bodily autonomy but it ultimately feels underdeveloped in relation to her other relationships and friendships in the movie.

Lindy’s trysts with the guy from the diner fold into her burgeoning friendship and relationship with Jax (Ki Griffin), a non-binary member of a support group Lindy joins. This relationship is the cornerstone of Lindy’s personal growth and self-discovery and by creating a dramatic thread between her relationship with Jax and her hooking up with other people, Fitting In risks falling into trope-y coming of age drama territory. However, the way these threads are reconciled amidst the strength of Ziegler’s performance and strong characterization for the character allow the film to wisely sidestep this potential narrative pitfall.

Fitting In explores Lindy’s story across multiple facets and paints a clear and vivid picture of the emotional journey she’s on throughout the film. Using an underrepresented medical condition as a launching off point for a story about one young woman’s journey of self-discovery makes Fitting In a wholly unique coming of age drama and an overall endearing and memorable experience.

Fitting In opens in theaters February 2nd.

About the Writer: Matt Hurt is the creator of ObsessiveViewer.com. He also created, hosts, and produces The Obsessive Viewer, Anthology, and Tower Junkies podcasts. He is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association.