By John Corrado

★★★ (out of 4)

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7th to 17th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

In her second feature Fitting In, Canadian writer-director Molly McGlynn (Mary Goes Round) shows how to handle sensitive subject matter in an often humorous but still respectful and serious way. In telling the story of a teenaged girl discovering that she was born with a rare reproductive condition, McGlynn deftly blends elements of a coming-of-age teen sex comedy with a dramatic look at someone navigating having an atypical body.

Outwardly, Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) is a pretty typical teen girl. She lives with her single mother Rita (Emily Hampshire), is a budding star on the school track team with her best friend Vivian (Djouliet Amara), and fantasizes about finally hooking up with her crush Adam (D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai). But Lindy is also sixteen and has never gotten her period. A gynecologist appointment to get birth control turns into a diagnosis of MRKH Syndrome, meaning that she was born no uterus and a shortened vaginal canal, making penetrative sex painful.

If Fitting In does follow some of the expected teen movie narrative beats, especially in its last act, it’s also grounded in a sincere exploration of Lindy’s condition. The film is educational about the basics of MRKH Syndrome, without fully turning into an after school special on the subject. On a deeper level, McGlynn’s film – which is described as semi-autobiographical – explores how people with any gender or sex differences have their bodies medicalized, showing how Lindy deals with slightly creepy male doctors who coldly examine and talk about her body as something that needs to be fixed.

The film also serves as a solid showcase for Ziegler, who gets to show off much more of her dramatic and comedic range. McGlynn put a lot of faith in the young dancer-turned-actress by giving her a somewhat challenging role, but Ziegler does a very good job of navigating it throughout, and it’s easy to imagine that Fitting In will become her calling card for more leading roles in the future.

Public Screenings: Saturday, September 9th, 8:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre; Tuesday, September 12th, 11:30 AM at TIFF Bell Lightbox