Titane
A desolate father who’s lost the son he loves. He will do anything to recapture this relationship. Then there’s a person who will do anything to seek hedonistic pleasures with no true feeling of love. Only, sex, murder, and Titane. What happens when these two collide?
A lost girl, Alex, whose biological father “sees” who they "really" are. A man who will never try to love her, and won’t pretend to. In general, we look to our parents as some of the few people who will love us unconditionally, despite our flaws. But what happens when a father sees through their child and feels nothing? Alex gains little to no love in her life and gains only sick pleasure, at first.
Who is “Alex”? Initially, she’s an unfeeling, butch-presenting female who’s living through selfish desires. Someone who rarely shows emotion, likes seemingly nobody, and hardly talks. In an odd happenstance, she meets the complete opposite of her dad. Vincent, a traumatized man possibly masking the fire in himself, the fact he knows his son is truly dead, accepts on-the-run serial killer “Alex” as his missing son “Adrian”. A firm masculine presence lingers from Vincent but there's a harrowing look of sadness behind his eyes. They want connection again. The little femininity presented is gone. Adrian’s transformation is well under procedure except a child is growing inside him.
After a short period, Alex tries to murder her new father to escape but suddenly turns back to live as the masculine Adrien. They are not sure if it's the right decision but the warmth from Vincent brings them back. Under threat by his pregnancy and gossip at work, there’s an ever-present ticking time bomb. The audience know he will be outed. By society or by giving birth.
If this review isn’t clear enough, this movie is about gender and transforming it to find unconditional love. Or unconditional love found through acceptance of being trans. I mean the easiest read of all time, Alex is a gender-neutral name.
Interestingly, when Alex transitions the violence in the movie disappears. When she presents as a woman she’s killing people left and right but suddenly when they present as Adrian her tendencies subside. This is a genius decision from Ducournau, women serial killers aren’t as common as the male equivalent and I think she’s playing with that gender dynamic perfectly.
Apart from when “Alex” is sexualized at the car show, she never fully presents as a woman. Or not what we traditionally see as one. Through not being sure of themself, and the critical lack of love from their father; they see no use in masking their sociopathic qualities. But that doesn’t mean the feeling isn’t there. The scene at the start where they look in utter dismay at rejection from a lover. In the bus scene where they send knowing looks to the woman next to them and the holding of her new father.
The movie always drives home the point that Adrien/Alex only ever start to feel whole when they aren’t forced to be masculine or feminine. When they are living as a human being and not a projection. It’s somewhere in the middle of the sensual feminine dancing and the cold masculine exterior. They go from a sex worker to firefighter. It’s such a tight script because they never really stay as one. As human beings, we can’t.
Everyone on here jokes about the car stuff or the brutality but so many people miss the sincerity presented. This movie is about being accepted. About found family: “I don’t care who you are. You’re my son. You’ll always be my son. Whoever you are”.
The fear I was talking about earlier has ended. It doesn’t matter who you are. I love you. It doesn’t matter what the men at the firehouse say we are one and I accept the grandchild I have now. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car-human hybrid, I will love it unconditionally. He doesn't care that Alex/Adrian lied he sees them for who they are. The way people overlook this and just go haha car sex funny, is the saddest thing about Titane. Because people are missing out on a gorgeous movie that deals with the trans experience in a very delicate and intimate way.
I think this confirms it for me that Ducournau, is up there with Cronenberg for me. To write a body horror script about being trans this groundbreaking, as a cis person, without ever talking down or misusing the emotion is astonishing. The cast is perfect, I think Rousselle is severely underrated in her physical performance and Lindon has this exact strong exterior but as soon as you read his face you know there's something deeper. This is in my top 4 for a reason. It might take two or more movies for other people to notice but Ducournau is the best working director today.