We would like to start by saying that everything in this article is from an entirely cis-het perspective. We have been reading a lot of literature on the LGBTQ community, from books and movies to their real-life accounts, but we do not presume to have even scratched the surface of what an actual lived experience is like. Therefore, any speculation regarding the characters’ actions or motivations comes from a mixture of this knowledge and ignorance, and we hope that it will be taken as such. But starting on a safe note, where was the fanfiction in a movie titled Fanfic? There was next to none of it, and if it hadn’t been a part of the film, it wouldn’t have made an iota of difference to the narrative. Which is why it looks to us as if it is being said that people who read or write fanfics are those in need of therapy or something similar. We saw a familiar narrative being pushed in another movie titled Dear David. We wouldn’t have had this opinion if it were just this particular movie, but the commonality is making us wonder whether this is the prevalent opinion. On a different note, the movie itself felt slow, and we wonder whether the makers even attempted to make it engaging or let that go in the interest of the raw facts of the story. For any story to connect with the audience, there must be a combination of both entertainment and the storytelling, and we feel like the art of balancing them is being lost somehow. But without further ado, let us get into a recap of the movie Fanfic.
Spoilers Alert
How Does Tosia Become Tosiek?
For as long as Tosia can remember, she has been angry at the world and everyone around her. When people speak with her, she is constantly rude to them, and it is as if she just doesn’t care to make friends. In her own words, only the medicines she steals from her father and her fanfiction stop her from hurting herself. One of the reasons that Tosia wants to stop seeing her therapist is that he will not prescribe her medication, no matter how much she begs for it. Then there is Leon, a guy who is interested in Tosia, and surprisingly, she seems to like him back. One day, after a particularly frustrating session with her therapist, Tosia shows up at a party and kisses Leon. He is caught off guard but seems alright with it, though we wish it hadn’t been portrayed that way. To Tosia’s credit, every time they kiss after that in the movie, it happens with permission.
Since Tosia arrives at the party soaked in the rain, Leon gives her some of his own clothes, and when Tosia wears them, Leon tells her that she would make a very good Tosiek. That moment, when Tosia stares at herself in the mirror, is when she realizes that she is a transgender man and not a woman. From then on, there is no looking back. The way Tosia came to this conclusion felt a little abrupt to us. Where was the journey? Where were the questions, doubts, and self-reflection? We are not sure if this was a creative liberty taken for the film or if it can really be that simple. We would like to know if anyone can pitch in.
How Do People React To Tosiek?
When Tosiek starts going to school dressed as a boy, his classmate Maks makes fun of him, but Tosiek is defended by his friends. Later at home, when Tosiek tells his father that he is, in fact, a boy, the father blames himself and says that it is something that Tosiek is probably doing for attention. However, he comes around when he has to defend Tosiek in the aftermath of a fight in school and also when he gains some perspective by speaking with Konrad’s father. Konrad is gay, and his father tells Tosiek’s dad that they should not push their children away with their prejudices. Towards the end of the movie, we see that Tosiek’s father shows him some videos and photographs from his childhood when he wanted to act like a boy. Tosiek is angry as to why he was not told this before because he has tried to be like his mother his entire life. If he knew early on that he was a boy, he wouldn’t have spent his life being so angry. Tosiek’s dad apologizes to him, and we know that from then on, he is an ally.
As for Maks, the journey of his coming around is a little tougher. Someone has released a video of Tosiek and Leon dancing at a party, and that has prompted a lot of derogatory slurs. Tosiek suspects that it is Maks. During lunch hour, when Maks acts especially ignorant and is schooled by some of their classmates, Tosiek borrows his phone under the pretense of a photograph and finds the video there, which was uploaded on the internet. A fight breaks out, and the kids’ parents are called to the school, which is when we discover that Maks’ father is a bully himself and might just be the reason for Maks’ tough guy bullish attitude. But this entire debacle has ensured that even Maks is on Tosiek’s side now, though he doesn’t express it until much later.
‘Fanfic’ Ending Explained: Does Tosiek Find Leon?
Leon is gay, and he had been hanging out with Tosia for cover, but when he discovered that Tosia was Tosiek, he started liking him. When they are hanging out at Tosiek’s father’s place, some of the employees show up, and they are a little flippant and dismissive of Tosiek. Instead of standing up for him, Leon makes a quick exit, leaving Tosiek in a potentially dangerous situation. Tosiek is not harmed, but when he gets out of there, he is pretty much done with Leon.
Later in class, when the students stand up to a teacher who refuses to acknowledge Tosiek as a man and also bullies another student, Matylda, them fighting for both the students is a symbolic acceptance of Tosiek’s new identity. But someone is not happy with the support that Tosiek has received. Roksana tells Tosiek that it was she who uploaded the video of Tosiek and Leon because she hated how mean Tosiek always was, yet people liked him. Roksana tells Tosiek that Leon had been evicted from his house by his parents after they found out he was gay. Leon also had to spend some time in the hospital after he was beaten up for dancing with a man. Tosiek finally understands why Leon ran away from that room at that time. It wasn’t cowardice as much as past trauma. At the end of Fanfic, Tosiek wants to make up with Leon immediately, but he has gone back to his parent’s house, and Tosiek sneakily gets the address from the school records with the help of his friends. When Tosiek finally goes there with his dad, he finds no one but sees Tosiek walking down the street and runs to him. Tosiek and Leon apologize to each other and reconcile, thereby getting a happy ending of their own.
Final Thoughts
Tosiek was admittedly rude to Roksana, and there is no excuse for that. But maybe, in his defense, a life spent being angry and fighting with oneself doesn’t leave one with much room to think about others? As for the fanfic itself, in what little we saw of it, we noticed a very interesting thing. Usually, when a girl writes fanfiction, she imagines herself as the love interest of the star of the show. But Tosia had written herself as the star. We would have considered it a moment of empowerment if we had not seen Leon in a gown. As much as Tosiek was against gender, is it possible his fanfics were influenced by the cultural perception of gender roles? This is something to think about. Other than this one factor, Fanfic remains a very average affair, and we believe that there are better stories out there that deserve our time more than this.
