Let’s get it out of the way. Yes, this is the movie where the main character, a muscle car showroom dancer named Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) has relations with a motor vehicle. Titane is director Julia Ducournau’s follow-up to xi, and those who have seen the bonkers take on modern-day cannibals will know that the French auteur has little interest in the mundane. Every shot of this motor oil-infused fever dream forces the viewer to pinch themselves and wonder if this is all one big joke. The setup, the premise, the twists – everything about Titane is going to be extremely polarizing, but somehow it adds up to a tender but exaggerated exploration of the levels people will go to feel a familial connection.
At a young age, Alexia shows a special connection to cars. Not in the way that might inevitably see her buck the stereotype and become a mechanic, but as if she is a demented Disney princess and vehicles are her woodland creatures. There’s a very clear absurdist tone set right from the film’s shocking opening, which eventually sees Alexia implanted with a titanium plate in her skull, and it only gets weirder from there.
After a string of shocking scenes that almost feel designed to push the average moviegoer out of the theater, Titane shifts into gear. Alexia finds herself under the care of Vincent (Vincent Lindon), who believes that this androgynous 30-year-old is somehow his long-lost son Adrien. Vincent almost totally ignores all the warning signs, some of which are laughably apparent, in service of finding purpose again. And Alexia, who has spent life as an impulsive, emotionless passenger in a life of mundanity and murder takes the wheel in the hopes Vincent might offer some form of human connection.
Make no mistake, Titane is a challenging movie even when it’s exploring more relatable themes. Ducournau is careful never to let the audience get too comfortable in the Vincent-Alexia bonding, and usually rips us back to the film’s messed up reality so fast it’s impossible not to get whiplash. Touching moments are punctuated by absurd details, like the way Vincent, an aging firefighter who resorts to steroids to keep up, uses the Macarena to teach Alexia/Adrien CPR.
It almost feels as if Titane is daring its audience to enjoy the viewing experience. The characters are so flawed, the circumstances SO bizarre, and the pay-off features a left turn so abrupt you can almost smell the burnt narrative rubber on the pavement. But despite all the weirdness in the movie, Titane leaves a lasting impression that is a net positive. It’s something different from a filmmaker whose uncompromising vision is tempered by layers of relatable subtext. Most may point to this movie for a very specific reason/scene, but Titane somehow finds a way to make its human characters and their relationships its most memorable quality. That alone is an achievement.
Titane is in theaters now.
Titane
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- Release Date
- October 1, 2021
Titane is a French horror drama directed by Julia Ducournau. Agathe Rousselle stars as Alexia, a woman with a titanium plate in her head who leads a violent and unconventional life.