Fear hangs heavy over Cuties, the Sundance-winning coming-of-age debut from Maïmouna Doucouré. In the film the fear of God is taught to Amy (Fathia Youssouf) from a young age. “Evil dwells in the bodies of uncovered women,” warns the preacher at her women’s service. Fear has also shrouded the release of Cuties itself, after a misguided poster choice from distributor Netflix sent bleak messages about sexualised girls into a trigger-happy Twittersphere.
The poster image of Amy and her crew, backlit, and provocatively positioned in skin-tight uniforms, does feature in Cuties. Here are some other images that feature: Mariam’s (Maïmouna Gueye) bare feet, seen from under a bed as Amy listens to her crying at the news that Amy’s father is taking a second wife; a Parisian sky punctured by glitter and rainbow-coloured hair extensions that the girls have thrown giddily into the air; a prism of emerald light as Amy and her brother peer through a beaded necklace.
Push aside the headlines, however, and you’ll be rewarded with a vibrant, morally intelligent film.
The world that Doucouré has written for her lost girl is so gorgeously crafted and considerately framed that when the supposedly raunchy dance moves arrive, they translate at worst into clumsy mimicry, at best the catalyst for self-realisation. The moves that the girls have picked up from music videos and social media are both a form of cultural commentary but also an extension of their chaotic energy, which Doucouré takes care to show manifest in other ways like fake shootouts at laser tag and scrappy fights with locals.
The girls’ unpolished but harmonious performances — especially between Youssouf and Médina El Aidi-Azouni, who plays gang leader Angelica — are dampened slightly by Netflix’s decision to dub the film, another misfire especially given its recent push for bilingual content. The world may be weighing against this French-language indie about a child whose family is falling apart. Push aside the headlines, however, and you’ll be rewarded with a vibrant, morally intelligent film that ironically reserves judgement.