Review: Titane

Image courtesy of Neon.

It's a rare occasion when I can make such proclamations, but Julia Ducournau's "Titane" is mostly unlike anything else you've ever seen. I say mostly because while there are some elements that feel influenced by other filmmakers - some body horror in the vein of David Cronenberg, a dance sequence and some other stylistic elements that would feel at home in a Claire Denis movie - this demented serial killer splatter picture cum familial drama is truly in a mind boggling league of its own.

The film's grim prologue acts as somewhat of an explainer, although there's nothing that can quite explain the rest of the picture. At the beginning, a young girl is misbehaving in the back seat of a car, making loud noises and kicking the seat in front of her while her increasingly annoyed father attempts to drive. When he turns around to punish her, his car spins out of control, and the young girl's head is thrown against the window. An operation is performed and a metal plate is inserted into her head. Upon leaving the hospital, the girl approaches the car in which she was injured and lovingly embraces it.

Some years later, this same girl, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), works at car shows, performing what amount to stripper-like dances (but leaving her clothes on) on the hoods of cars at car shows. She has attracted a following and often signs autographs after her performance. One night, a seemingly obsessed fan follows her out to her car, forces himself upon her and gets stabbed through the head with her weapon of choice - a metal hair pin with which she keeps her hair held in place. We soon realize that the man is not her first victim.

Alexia's victims begin to pile up - and the film features a delirious sequence in which she bumps off one victim who has come onto her (that seems to be her tipping point), only to realize that the house where the killing has taken place is hosting a sex party, and people continue to come downstairs, leading to a body count that quickly piles up. The absurdity of the otherwise gory sequence - there's a killing involving a bar stool that's just brutal - reminded me of the hilariously bungled hit in "Mulholland Drive," or felt like a scene that wouldn't be out of place in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

Then, something completely loony happens. Alexia finds a car waiting for her one night after her performance, she enters it and a sexual encounter occurs... between Alexia and the car. The result of this insane tryst displays even more chutzpah than the sex scene itself. This is a film that forces you to extend your disbelief quite a bit, and then asks you to extend it even more to absurd heights. But because the film is so completely committed to its vision, it works.

Alexia finds that she must hide out, believing the police to be on her trail, and notices a sign on a wall regarding a young boy who has been missing for years. She decides to pose as the young man, tapes down her chest and passes herself off as the missing lad. The boy's single father, a brutish firefighter captain named Vincent (Vincent London), appears so overwhelmed by the possible return of his son that he doesn't question the obviously bizarre circumstances and Alexia's odd appearance. He's just glad to have his son back.

The film's second half almost feels like another movie altogether, transforming from a bloody serial killer thriller into a dysfunctional family drama with some extreme body horror elements. There's no way I can discuss the film further without giving away a key plot point, so if you don't want the film's most absurd plot thread ruined for you, read no further.

The second half of "Titane" is some sort of treatise on the fragility of the body - both because Alexia is trying to hide her pregnancy, brought on by her sexual tryst with the automobile, as oil seeps out of her body in the shower and her stomach starts to bulge, while Vincent is obsessed with retaining his physique in his battle with Father Time, sticking himself in the ass with a needle full of steroids in an attempt to retain his muscular frame.

The film's second half is not only about the failings of the body over time, but also explores the concept of what it means to "take care of" another person. While Vincent is determined to watch over his long-lost son, and is fiercely protective when bringing Alexia around the alpha males in his firehouse, Alexia must also care for the tormented Vincent, often picking him up off the bathroom floor after his steroid use has caused him to collapse.

With only two features - including "Raw," her squirm inducing debut about cannibalism - Ducournau has proved herself to be a provocateur and a chronicler of body horror who would make Cronenberg proud. While "Raw" was impressive, it was a film that I more appreciated than loved, whereas "Titane" is one of the most unique, bizarre, intentionally unpleasant, hilarious, shocking and confident films I've seen in some time. This is a filmmaker in control of a particularly bold vision. 

Some may love "Titane" (count me among that crowd), while others may hate it and some may have no idea what to make of it. Others may feel a combination of these responses. But I'd bet that one thing is for sure: Those who have seen won't soon forget it.