VIFF 2024 Review: Toxic
Toxic (2024)
Directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė
In her feature film debut, Saulė Bliuvaitė delivers a coming-of-age story for the ages. Set in Lithuania, Toxic opens with what feels like a nod to Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976). In a women’s locker room, a group of girls openly mock young Marija, targeting her limp and awkward appearance. The tension escalates into a confrontation over a pair of jeans, but it quickly becomes clear this isn’t a horror pastiche. Instead, it’s a dark and beautiful friendship film, reminiscent of Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen (2003) or, oddly enough, Harmony Korine’s Gummo (1997).
Every shot in Toxic feels meticulously crafted—not just to highlight perspective, but also to emphasize movement and color. Marija and her new friend, Kristina, wander through their impoverished Lithuanian town, first as carefree kids, then as would-be models. An ad-hoc modeling agency dangles promises of a better life in Paris, Tokyo, or even New York, but these promises soon lead to a series of trials and disillusionments.
While the film is relatable to a broad audience, it’s clearly aimed at those who’ve experienced the unique struggles of being a young woman—balancing issues of beauty, eating disorders, budding sexuality, and complicated familial relationships. Toxic is never sanitized for entertainment’s sake; it feels raw and, at times, almost too real. Some scenes broke my immersion because I felt genuine concern for the young actors on screen—like when they lay shivering on a dock or purged their meals by force. One particular scene pulled me out of the narrative and into outright outrage: Kristina visits a grimy public restroom to get her belly button pierced but ends up opting for a tongue piercing instead. The so-called “technician” repeatedly fails to push the needle through, all in a filthy bathroom stall that couldn’t be further from sterile. It’s disturbing and hard to watch.
Both Vesta Matulyte and Leva Rupeikaite make their acting debuts as 14-year-olds. Even if the actors are older in real life, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the lure of “starring in a movie” might have echoed the same exploitative mechanisms used by the fictional modeling agency. Or is that my own patriarchal bias, assuming that young female actors lack the autonomy of their male counterparts? Either way, I was conflicted. As a film, Toxic is near-perfect, and I’m astounded it’s Bliuvaitė’s first feature. But I hope to see more interviews or articles featuring these young actresses, discussing how this film jump-started their careers. Unfortunately, my intuition tells me they might still be in their impoverished situations—like the kids from Slumdog Millionaire (2008), left with little more than the memories of their brief stardom.
Toxic is highly recommended and ranks among the greatest raw coming-of-age films of all time. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the aforementioned Thirteen, Gummo, and Slumdog Millionaire, as well as Kids (1995), Hard Candy (2005), and Waves (2019).