Cuties is a French film from writer/director, Maïmouna Doucouré, inspired by her own experiences growing up as a Senegalese refugee in France. It follows a young 11 year old girl, Amy (Fathia Youssouf), who lives with her mother and two little brothers in a poor apartment complex, still awaiting for the father to join them from Senegal. Their household is fairly strict; taking their Islamic faith very seriously, informing not only how they live, but also in terms of what they expect for the future of their children, putting immense pressure on Amy’s shoulders in particular since a woman has to bear many responsibilities. However, she soon finds herself drawn to a group of girls at her school who enjoy dancing, one of them being a neighbor, Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni), and she eventually works her way into their circle.
Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the controversy that surrounds this film. First coming to fruition when the trailer and poster was released, and once again when the film was made available a few days ago. What likely started out as a call of genuine concern, and rightfully so considering some of the marketing material, it very quickly got snatched by online right wing personalities and their followers, resulting in a barrage of bad faith arguments, insults, fake reviews/ratings, and death threats. I have no interest in engaging with any of their arguments because I know anyone who is rational and has even a mild sense of media literacy should be able to see and evaluate the film on its own terms, and come to understand the intentions behind the film, and how the filmmakers go about realizing that.
The film goes through a fairly standard coming-of-age formula, one where our protagonist rebels against traditions as they try to find out who they are and what their place in the world. Amy’s struggles feel real and authentic. You can feel the pressures she faces when she’s in her house, and forced to deal with these barriers that are meant to mold her into a very specific kind of woman, one that’s modest, traditional, and perhaps most importantly, obedient. There’s a very moving and powerful scene early on where Amy hides under the bed when her mother, Mariam (Maïmouna Gueye), enters the room with an elder, revealing that her husband is bringing a second wife, she is basically told to take it in stride, and when the elder leaves, she cries trying to make a celebratory call.
That having been said, that doesn’t mean the film isn’t taking some challenging approaches to its material. There’s a saying in art that “depiction does not equal endorsement,” and Doucouré is straddling that line in ways that are very daring and provocative. Yes, you do see the girls twerk, and dress in skimpy clothing. Yes, it will be uncomfortable to watch. It’s supposed to be, that’s the point. It’s this fine line of presenting things in a manner that dramatizes how the girls feel at a given moment, and contrasting that with the reality of the implications behind their actions. Practically every moment where the girls do something suggestive, they are judged and reprimanded by both their peers and the adults around them.
At its best, the film dives into is the circumstances that led these girls to be the way they are. Angelica tells Amy about how her parents are never around because they’re working. She tells her that she feels like a disappointment to them, and that the only approval she gets is from everyone else. These girls just want to be happy, they want to be cool, they want to fit in, and the only way they feel like they can get that is by emulating what society seemingly wants from them as presented through pop culture. They look at popular women on Instagram, seeing them dance in hypersexualized ways, and figure doing that will bring them the happiness that they want. And for a fleeting moment, it does just that, but they don’t grasp the consequences of acting in that way at their age.
That’s ultimately what Cuties is about for me, expectations, which is almost ironic considering the controversy. There’s the expectations of the very traditional household, and there’s the expectations of what society deems desirable in women that are then seen by little girls as something they should aspire to, which are two very different extremes. It’s no wonder why Amy acts out the way she does throughout the film, especially under the influence of the girls, who really don’t look and act all that different from some girls that I went to middle and high school with. It features strong performances all around, and Maïmouna Doucouré handles the material in a way that is artful, sensitive yet bold, and not afraid to do things that will shock the audience. It largely works in the film’s favor, and cements that the controversy did not need to go as far as it did. However, if I’m being honest, there are a couple moments where I did find myself struggling with it. Just because I found it to be mostly effective at what it intends, doesn’t mean I think it’s something that will work for everyone. It doesn’t necessarily offers answers to the ideas it brings up, which can add another level of frustration, and frankly, the ending did feel a bit sudden (the final shot is fantastic, though). This film was bound to rustle feathers even if the controversy didn’t exist. This is an area of growing up as a girl in the internet era that isn’t explored as often in movies, and Doucouré explores that without holding things back to soften the blow, so it’s no surprise that many are caught off guard by it. I hope Doucouré doesn’t feel discouraged by her experience with Netflix’s complete inability to market the film because she did make something that’s interesting, empathetic, and worthy of discussion.
Cuties is now available on Netflix.