Movie Review: 'Titane' is Weird and Enthralling

Director Julia Ducournau is among the most challenging and unique filmmakers in the world. Her work on 2016’s Raw was deeply unsettling and yet entirely engrossing. The same could be said of the director’s new film, Titane, a film that matches Raw for every unsettling beat and perhaps out does Raw for outlandishness. Does that mean that Titane is entirely successful? Perhaps not, but it is undeniably memorable and teeming with ingenuity, dark wit, and bizarre insight into humanity and our desire to connect.

Titane tells the story of a little girl named Adrien whose life is forever changed by a car accident. Adrian was badly maimed in the accident in which she was tormenting her father from the back seat before removing her seatbelt and causing her father to swerve into an accident that threw Adrien’s head into a passenger side window. Adrien was lucky not to be killed. Instead, she came away with screws and metal plates in her head and torso.

The scar from Adrien’s head injury remains visible as she grows into adulthood but it hasn’t stopped her from being incredibly attractive. As we meet Adrian as an adult she’s sauntering through a crowd at a car show where she is a featured attraction. Adrian dances on the cars, specifically a flame painted muscle car that is the other star of the show. Adrien’s work attracts fans and creeps alike as we see Adrien leaving the car show and being followed to her car.

At first, the grubby young man following Adrien just wants an autograph but his entreaties quickly escalate to him professing his love to Adrien. As creepy as this is, it gets creepier when Adrien seems to return this man’s advances. Then, Adrien removes a large knitting needle from her hair and uses it to stab the fan in the ear as she holds him inside the window of her car to keep people from seeing his body in the throes of death. She then loads the man into her car with the strong indication that she is going to get rid of his body.

Before she does that however, Adrien returns to the now abandoned locker room at the car show and takes a shower. While nude from the shower, Adrien becomes drawn to the car show floor and to the vehicle on which she was dancing earlier. She’s compelled to climb inside the car and into the backseat where she appears to have sex with the car. It’s unclear at this time if we are to believe this encounter is really happening or merely a fantasy expression of Adrien’s sexual fetish for titanium.

Whether you believe Adrien had sex with a car or not is entirely up to you and may or may not be intended to reveal something about you, dear reader. Regardless of whether it happened or not, this sequence is bold, shocking and exceptionally presented. Director Julia Ducournau has an immense talent for making something shocking but also incredibly cinematic. There is purpose to the shock, there is meaning behind the visual and you must pay attention to follow the shock and how it ripples through the rest of the story.

The ripples in this story include Adrien going on the run, Adrien seeming to become pregnant from her encounter with the car, and Adrien taking the identity of a missing boy for an opportunity to hide from the Police who are seeking her for more reasons than the one I have described. You will need to see Titane for yourself to get the full effect of Titane as it is a movie that rewards your attention with a series of strong, unexpected, and often quite strange, payoffs.

Do I think Titane is as shocking or exceptional as Raw? Perhaps not, but part of the problem is the hype surrounding Titane. Many critics have talked about the shocking aspects of Titane and built the film a reputation that it can’t quite live up to. Even as shocking as Titane truly is, it can’t live up to the legend of what Raw or the early reviews of Titane have created. It’s still an exceptional film but there are also lengthy and repetitive beats in the movie that do take time to develop and play out. There is nothing wrong with that but when you go in looking for shock value and you end up having to be patient, it can create a particular disconnect.

That said, if you haven’t had Titane completely spoiled for you, it’s worth checking out. Director Julia Ducournau is a visionary talent and even if this doesn’t quite reach the heights of shocking and appalling that you might be hoping for, it is a nevertheless rewarding and surprising experience. Ducournau is such an exceptional filmmaker that even the parts of Titane that don’t land are still exceptional in presentation.

Titane is available now for streaming rental everywhere.