Titane is about a woman who has sex with a car and gets pregnant. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival. It will leave you speechless.
Safe to say, Titane is a movie like no other. This body horror thriller comes to us from Julia Ducournau, and it has a premise that is, um, shocking. If you watch this movie and describe the story to those who ask, they will either not believe you or ask which character Adam Sandler plays in the film. This is a unique, beautifully absurd idea for a movie that could be laughable, but for the most part, plays it straight.
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You could have taken a premise like this and gone down an absurdist comedy route along the lines of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Junior (ironically sharing the name of Ducournau’s first short film). But anyone who has seen Ducournau’s feature debut, Raw, knows that that is not her style.
Ducournau’s affinity for flesh is all over this film. There are utterly shocking scenes in this story that take so many strange, dark turns that it is best to go into this film cold. It has moments of grotesque violence that will likely be off-putting for many viewers. While the film has its moments of violence, it knows when to cut away rather than reveling in grossness the way the Saw franchise has. It’s graphic in all the right ways, as Ducournau plays around with the tension of knowing we’re about to see something that will send a chill down our spine before it even happens.
Beneath every horrifying event in this story, we have a dark sense of humor lying through much of Titane. The movie can draw a couple of good laughs from the audience, but you can see how it’s always intentional, inviting viewers to laugh with the film rather than at it.
It’s a genuinely twisted film adeptly tackling themes of femininity, sexuality, and unconditional love. Every character is taken to new, exciting places as the film elicits disgust and a fair amount of entertainment value. Motor oil comes out of our protagonist’s vagina, everyone. While Titane could rub some people the wrong way due to the audacity of it all, there is no movie like this. It’s a genuine shock that a film this out of this world is coming to theaters. This is a love-it-or-hate-it thrill ride that can get many people discussing its deeper meanings.
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What makes the film even more gripping to watch is the performances. This is leading lady Agathe Rouselle’s first role in a movie, and she knocks it out of the park as Alexia. She is fantastic in every second of the movie, and this film is a showcase of her talent that will hopefully land her more roles in the future. Vincent Landon is also phenomenal as Vincent, a character with many personal demons who crosses paths with Alexia. These two vanish into their roles, with Vincent showing so much emotion and Alexia being such a complex protagonist where we are not sure if we’re supposed to be rooting for or against her.
Titane will alienate some, but it will have film lovers drooling over the strange story and Ruben Impens’s cinematography. Some will call this film needlessly pretentious, but the bonkers ending will leave many happy with what they saw. No matter where you are on that spectrum, Titane is weird, bold, and powerful enough to leave its mark on you after the credits roll.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” It’s a successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
