Titane Review

8.5/10

I have no idea where to start with this one. Titane is unlike anything I’ve seen in quite a long time. The director Julia Ducournau made one of my favorite films, Raw. This new one doesn’t quite strike those same chords with me, but it succeeds in many ways. I went into this knowing nothing about the plot. The trailers are deliberately vague. This is an experience you want to approach with no prior knowledge. Titane is difficult to recommend to anyone with a weak stomach. The brutality is never without reason, but it made me flinch quite a few times. The film throws you right into the narrative with a quick opening scene to set up the lead character, Alexia, and her backstory. A horrible car accident in her childhood is the catalyst for her downward spiral and deterioration. Once that is introduced, we jump a few years into the future to a sleazy car show dotted with drooling apes lusting over scantily clad women showing off the vehicles.

The camera moves past the various gyrating bodies, presenting a grown-up Alexia as part of this grotesque world. The leers from the men are loathsome, but they soon fade into the background when we focus on Alexia as she takes her turn to dance on the car. Her movements are different from the others, more primal and synchronized with the energy of the motors. The greasy vultures gawping on the sidelines barely exist now. At this point I remember thinking, where could this possibly be going? We’ve seen Alexia’s past and why trauma of the accident stripped away her humanity. What kind of story is this going to tell? That’s when the film veers into the twisted early Cronenberg inspired territory. Alexia is a damaged and cold soul with no real connection with anyone. Her own father can barely look at her. Alexia’s mother makes more effort to connect, but it is in vain. She is a ghost in her own home, a horrible reminder of the past her parents cannot deal with.

The film deals with violence in a very blunt way. It can certainly shock, but it is never sadistic for the sake of it. Alexia is a difficult character to attach to at first. She is distant and intense, inflicting pain on those around her like a machine. This drives her to commit atrocious acts on multiple people. At first, it is directed towards someone who threatens her, then the exact opposite. It seems like a coping mechanism to avoid any kind of feelings towards others. Building up walls in the most savage and bloody ways possible doesn’t seem like the most practical method of dealing with your issues, but hey I can’t say I’ve tried it so what do I know? I would like to say say it works for her, but it clearly doesn’t. When the carnage starts, I was expecting it to be some kind of arthouse slasher, but then it changes direction. From scene to scene, it morphs and twists, revealing more of its heart as the story moves forward.

I was not initially expecting Titane to have such a powerful emotional core. The structure we begin with is one of harrowing ferocity. If it continued on that path for the entire runtime, it would be exhausting. That’s not to say the film tiptoes through the tulips, the gruesome violence is still present, but it shifts into body horror territory. Alexia is going through an internal transformation, one that I will not reveal the details of. All the bloodshed she commits, gives way to an inward suffering. She has no idea what is going to happen, but it is quite literally tearing her up inside. I know I’ve been talking around the gory details, but to explain it would take too long and sound completely bonkers. I’m not much of an academic either, so you’re not going to get an in-depth breakdown of metaphors and themes. There are plenty to explore, but that’s not what usually interests me while watching a film. It’s something I am aware of after viewing, but I rarely ponder the significance of every tiny detail while immersed in a story. If I’m properly absorbed, I’m not thinking of anything, I’m just engrossed in the film.

I rarely sit there during a film, caressing my chin thinking “hmm yes, this scene is a metaphor for loneliness, fear and the gradual collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.” (Side note, when I was a kid a good friend of mine once convinced me that Def Leppard’s song “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was a metaphor for the rise of communism in Russia. Pouring the sugar supposedly represented pouring the sugar of oppression on the masses. I had no idea the song was so deep.) Anyway, where was I? Oh right, the review. Honestly, I can sum up Titane with one feeling, love. This twisted and uncomfortable body horror is really about the most universal of emotions. It’s about the love we lack, the love that simultaneously entices us, and drives us away. Alexia has no love in her life. She replaced that long ago with violence.

The film also dabbles in dark comedy much like Raw. One scene involving multiple murders was so over the top and absurd it made me flinch and giggle simultaneously. That kind of tone is incredibly difficult to get right. The lighter moments can ease tension from the horrific acts, but they should never trivialize them. Horror often goes off the rails into the territory of campiness, but Titane is never camp. It is aware of how uncomfortable the events can be, so it reveals a welcome self-awareness. The very concept of the film would be cheesy if done by many other filmmakers. If the material is not taken seriously, it can devolve into schlock. Ducournau never makes that mistake, she knows exactly what she is doing.

There is a certain point in the film where the sympathetic eye is pointed at a new character, Vincent. A strange kind of father figure in Alexia’s life, but not in the way I was expecting. Alexia turns into a kind of anguish surrogate for Vincent, a fabricated figure to project his grief onto. Their relationship is strained to say the least, but their growing connection soon transcends brutality and becomes a real love. Not exactly the healthiest one for most of the film, but the trust they develop becomes the foundations of Titane’s heart. Vincent Lindon is wonderful as Vincent; his hulking frame and imposing figure soon gives way to an earnest tenderness. The newcomer Agathe Rousselle is an incredible find as Alexia. The performance conveys so much pain and repressed sorrow with very little dialogue. Her arduous metamorphosis from icy killer, to vulnerable and scared is extraordinary. Hers is definitely one of my favorite performances of the year.

It is not a perfect transition though, the moment the story shifted into this new direction was jarring. The film jumps from one story beat to the next in a very confusing way. There is only a small visual cue of where the narrative will go, but it’s one that I must have missed because the cut to the next scene when we are introduced to this new character and dynamic made me think the film was missing a few scenes explaining why Alexia was at this place and why. It took a while for me to figure out what was happening, to the point where I feel it compromised the emotional resonance of their early scenes together. Once I understood what was going on, the rest clicked into place. This is a film with a unique and vivid voice, but it is absolutely not for everyone.

Ducournau does not shy away from the horrors on screen, but that is the point of those details. After a while, I became so engrossed in the emotional core of the film that the violence did not bother me so much. That may not be the case for many others, so I completely understand if the intense visuals on display are too much for some. Titane is a remarkable film, but it kept me at a distance until Alexia meets Vincent, and their warmth takes a while to find its footing. The cold and detached tone in the first part of the film fits with Alexia’s state of mind, but it does make it more difficult to be attached to what’s going on when her actions are so twisted. Considering the suffering she went through; it makes sense to keep her internal world a wilted flower until it’s allowed to blossom. While Raw certainly has its fair share of brutality, the heart of the story was clear from the get-go. Titane slowly draws you in, only showing brief glimpses of the bigger picture.

I’m very glad that Ducournau went this direction with her 2nd film. Often after such a great debut, Hollywood gobbles up exceptional talents like her and shoehorns them into making soulless blockbusters. Assembly line products like that can tend to compromise an artist’s vision. Sure, they may make a fun film for the masses, but what made them great and unique is now buried under studio notes. She may end up being convinced into making a major studio extravaganza, but I hope that doesn’t take away from what makes her a one-of-a-kind artist. I saw Titane at the opening night of Beyond Fest in Los Angeles and it was a wonderful experience. I saw her speak afterwards and she is such an inspiring person to listen to. The way she talks about the depth and background of the film and why it’s important to her really elevated the night. I don’t love Titane as much as I adore Raw, but it is a special kind of beast that will linger in my mind for quite a while. If you can deal with the viciousness of the bloodshed and carnage, you will discover a film with a beautiful message about unconditional acceptance, profound rebirth, and human connection. Even when these people are beaten down and broken, they can still be put back together through caring for each other and those who matter most. What a lovely note to end on.