This piece was originally published on contributor Evan Cogswell’s blog, Catholic Cinephile.
At this point, it is probably impossible to review Cuties without reviewing the controversy that has emerged around it. Unless, of course, there’s been a new outrage for the internet to move on to, but that seems unlikely before I publish this. A large part of the controversy surrounding Cuties is definitely the mob mentality of the internet, but well-meaning people have been caught up in it, so it is worth taking seriously.I will state upfront: Cuties is a film about cultural sexualization of children, but it depicts that sexualization without engaging in it. There are shocking scenes obviously meant to make the viewer uncomfortable and question their complicity in a culture that presents sex to children too young to understand it, but as the eleven-year-old girls attempt dance moves that they think make them “grown-up,” it’s not sexual at all, just pathetic and tragic.
I must admit that I am surprised by the controversy. While the scenes in Cuties are certainly provocative, they are hardly exploiting the young actresses, and they are unquestionably tamer than scenes in films such as Walkabout, Ratcatcher, Birth, The Squid and the Whale, Little Miss Sunshine, Moonrise Kingdom, and even last year’s Good Boys. While part of me wonders where the controversy was when those films were released, and then that part of me thinks the world has lost its collective mind—which after seven months of a pandemic, it probably has—another part of me acknowledges that those films did not engage the issue of child sexualization as directly as Cuties does. And that grappling with such a serious issue makes the childhood forays into sex much more discomforting to watch.
And we’re not a society that handles discomfort well, if at all. For instance, when an execution goes horrifically wrong, we don’t condemn the death penalty, just its alleged misapplication. Or when the first cut of The Avengers showed too much blood after Loki stabbed someone, it was rated R because the violence was too realistic. In other words, we focus on aesthetics. So it shouldn’t really be a surprise when a film that confronts an upsetting issue head on is accused of doing the thing it condemns. Once again, we ignore context and subtext in favor of surface reactions.
For Amy (Fathia Youssouf), she is caught between two worlds, and she doesn’t understand the context of either. It’s the lack of understanding which the film thoughtfully explores as she comes of age in her own very misguided way. She has her strict Muslim upbringing on one side and the seemingly liberated world of dance on the other. Both of them insist on control over the female body, in both cases through an unhealthy obsession over sex. One side mysteriously veils it as a woman’s only worth, and the other recklessly pursues it. Both are shown to be harmful. For a film drawing such ire from conservatives, this is honestly a fairly conservative film.
Amy’s running back and forth between her new found friends, the titular “Cuties,” and her family has all the impulse of a rebellious eleven-year-old, and while her final decision seemingly comes out of left field, it is consistent with her desire for inclusion and love. That is how sexuality is so often portrayed to children: as something they must do to be liked, and the cultural preying upon that is what is so horrific in the film.
Director Maïmouna Doucouré exercises incredible restraint in filming the girls’ choreography and using their woeful misunderstanding of sex to get what they want. She also brilliantly stages crucial scenes in Amy’s development, such as when Amy hides under her mom’s bed and hears of her father’s second marriage. Once again, it’s something the eleven-year-old does not fully understand, even as she knows it’s wrong. (As I said, this film has a surprisingly conservative attitude toward sexuality.)
My biggest complaint with the film is that there seem to be too many reaction shots missing. However, with the film being solely from Amy’s perspective, the lack of adult perspective shows a child lost between two worlds as she navigates growing up without guidance. More accurately, Amy begins this period of her life with the guidance that her culture offers her as she abandons one frying pan for another. It’s unquestionably uncomfortable, but it’s a mirror to a society that teaches girls their only worth is their sexuality.
