Titane

Released 26th December, Cert - 18,

1 hour 48 minutes, Director - Julia Ducournau

As exotic dancer Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) begins to act upon her long-growing murderous impulses, an ageing fire chief (Vincent Lindon) finds himself reunited with his decade-long missing son.

Before its Cannes premiere, very little was known about writer-director Julia Ducournau’s latest. Two basic plot synopses were released, neither of which prepare you for what’s to come over the next

108 minutes. It’s easy to start talking about the film and find yourself unfurling various details of the twists, turns and general madness. Helped by the fact that, much like the details before the debut screening, it’s very hard to pinpoint Titane as just one thing.

Ducournau blends fantasy, body-horror, action, crime, family drama and more with help from an

excellently dead-pan, yet fearful, Agathe Rousselle as Alexia. Alexia works as an exotic dancer, surrounded by the likes of shining, flame-patterned Cadillacs - just part of the initial burst of neon colours. Gradually Alexia becomes something more like a machine, acting upon growing impulses she descends into a rage of violent, far from clean, killings.

The audible style that runs throughout is just as important as the visuals, including audible flinches that escape during many of the bloody exchanges. Such scenes are relentless in their energy and the extents to which they go, yet somehow when in the slight dark weirdness of the film, never feel like a line is crossed.

As the body count rises, we see the almost alternative story of ageing, steroid-abusing fire chief Vincent. After a decade apart he’s reunited with his missing son. While for the former, the relationship is more about an emotional catching-up, the latter experiences a silent settling in to strange, uncomfortable surroundings; both hiding more than they show. Each of Titane’s strands links back to themes of identity and body image. Each one different for each character, yet all consistent in tone and themes. Everything contributes to this overall theme while still never quite setting aside the insanity of Alexia’s strand as she begins to try and hide more than just her killings.

Thanks to such shared ideas the characters feel more united in their various efforts. Allowing

Vincent’s more plot-led arc and Alexia’s action-led arc to feel less contrasting and more intimate between the two strangers in their own stories. Stories heightened by personal, sometimes brutal, details.

Many have labelled Titane as something truly off-the-wall and insane - bookended with style and sensory engagement, making the madness the highlights of the audience experience - what’s not been discussed as much is the drama within. The man reuniting with his son after ten years, their relationship, identities and ways they interact. It’s all well-handled and gives the final piece an extra layer that prevents it from being purely sequential overload. When paired with the consistent elements of darkness, weirdness, horror, fantasy, violence and shock Titane is truly a film that manages to stay sane inside insanity.

***** <-- Four Stars Jamie Skinner