The Fits

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Royalty Hightower stars as Toni in The Fits.

Anna Rose Holmer, director of the documentary Twelve Ways to Sunday, teamed up with co-writers Lisa Kjerulff and Saela Davis to sensitively explore the quiet and insular world of Toni (Royalty Hightower), an 11-year old girl, a gym rat of sorts, training in boxing, yet secretly curious about the world of the urban dance troupe practicing across the hall. Over time, Toni joins the group, trading solo discipline for the determination to conform to unified movement, but Holmer employs her documentary chops to weave in the not-so-subtle horrors concerning the lengths these girls are willing to go to solidify membership, especially once a series of unexplained fainting spells and dangerously violent fits start sweeping through the ranks. The decidedly urban setting gives The Fits a unique spin, but local audiences should rush out to see Cincinnati’s West End and some of its home-grown talent on full display.  (Opens Friday at Esquire Theatre) (Not Rated) Grade: A-