Fridays of Fright: Buckle In For A Love Story Of The Ages
Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) Dancing on the Car that Impregnates her
What do a car-obsessed woman and a grieving firefighter have in common? Not much. That is until said woman goes on a killing spree and transforms into the aforementioned firefighter’s missing son. Oh! And she’s been impregnated by a Cadillac. It might sound absurd – or even leaning on the side of camp like last week's film Lucky (2020) – but to writer and director Julia Ducournau it’s right in her wheelhouse. After her stunning debut in 2016 with Raw, the world of horror has been itching for another film from the mind of Ducournau. Enter Titane (2021). A film as odd as it is moving. A summary of a film like Titane isn’t one that fully makes sense (as seen in the opening lines), but it isn’t as much about the content of the story but the subtext that Ducournau plays with.
Alexia's (Agathe Rousselle) backstory explains both her attraction to cars along with the scar that adorns the right side of her head. In the grand scheme of things, it seems like the first half of the film doesn’t connect or isn’t even necessary to the plot, but the truth is these scenes are needed to establish Alexia’s machine-like behavior. While never outright hostile – until of course she starts murdering people – she is shown to have no connection to anyone or anything except cars. Now the question is, why? In comes the first of the subtext that Ducournau has fit into her film. To live in a world constantly objectified, harassed, and thrown aside Alexia – like many women – has learned to live without an emotional connection in order to protect herself.
Vincent (Vincent Lindon) Finding out who Adrien Actually is
And protect herself she does. Alexia cuts and dyes her hair, shaves her eyebrows, breaks her nose, and binds her breasts and pregnant belly to become the infamous missing child Adrien Legrand. This is a turning point in the film where the audience sees Adrien, née Alexia open herself up to Vincent (Vincent Lindon) – Adrien’s fire captain father. The progress is slow, and the relationship is odd, to say the least, but the core of this storyline is based in acceptance and gender presentation. Although this is an unusual way to comment on gender identities, it’s hard to miss the underlying context when Vincent talks to Adrien and says “I don’t care who you are. You’re my son. You’ll always be my son.” On the other hand, it could be seen as insensitivity or denial of identity, but in the sense of who Adrien / Alexia is and their androgyny seen from the beginning, it elicits gender euphoria.
On the surface, Titane is a disjointed paradox of femininity, family, and the union between person and machine, but in reality, Ducournau has found a way to connect these themes either overtly or through subtext. This film is not for the faint of heart. From body horror to unmitigated horror, Titane is making the way for a new era of horror.