Titane: Quick Take Review

Director Julia Ducournau follows up her audacious debut Raw, with Titane, no doubt trying to top the sheer lunacy in her first film by doubling down on it in her second. If I were to describe the plot to you, you'd ask me if I was on drugs. Honestly, knowing as little as possible is the way to go with this film though, so I'll try not to say too much. To boil it down to its simplest and most vague terms, Titane follows Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) a jaded woman who desperately must escape her life and the things she's done. She unexpectedly finds a new life and makes a connection that means more to her than she realizes.

Titane begins with a bang and feels like nonstop lunacy for the first half-hour or so. Then it slows down and almost becomes a different film entirely. I think I eventually kind of admired the movie it became and I was certainly engaged all throughout, but it still also feels like the type of film that keeps its viewers at arm's length. Perhaps this is because of how cold our protagonist is, but it affects the whole film. I came out admiring the film on one level and really not liking it on another (honestly there is so much nightmare fuel in here to haunt my dreams for years to come...). There are a lot of poignant moments and real character development here. Ultimately I do believe there's an audience for Titane, I'm just not sure it is for me, and it's certainly not for everyone else either. Titane is definitely worth seeing...it just might make you scratch your head for quite a bit afterward.

RATING: 6/10