Titane
2021
*****
Director: Julia Ducournau
Cast: Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh, Dominique Frot, Myriem Akheddiou, Bertrand Bonello, Céline Carrère, Thibault Cathalifaud, Florence Janas
Alexia is a young woman whose life is marked by violence and an obsession with cars. Becoming a fugitive leads her to impersonate a boy who disappeared years ago. The plot reads like a cross between David Cronenberg's Crash and The Imposter, but it doesn't come close to capturing the essence of Julia Ducournau's second feature. This is an absolutely insane but thoroughly intriguing and consistently unpredictable body horror drama that explores gender fluidity, identity, masculinity, family, grief, and acceptance. Even Alexia, a killer with a titanium plate in her head, deserves to be loved and cared for. Agathe Rousselle gives an amazing lead performance.
