![]() ![]() Maybe I could’ve led with a spoiler warning (and by spoiler I don’t mean to imply any untoward activities involving the car’s rear wing). It’s not clear whether she’s having a boy or a grille. Soon it becomes clear that Alexia is pregnant from this mechaphile fling, a development that calls forth some of Ducournau’s most memorably appalling images, from the rapid prosthetic swell of Alexia’s belly to the steady black drip of motor oil from multiple orifices. It simply turns on the headlights, emits a few come-hither rumbles and waits as Alexia straps herself into the backseat and initiates her own frenzied joyride, sans lubricant, muffler or shock absorber. The Caddy, it should be noted, does not honk if it’s horny. Here I’ll offer a clarifying word or two on the mechanics of the act, even if the movie leaves them either mercifully or disappointingly vague. ![]() ![]() The movie’s first half-hour is a chain-reaction pileup of sadistic violence, nearly all of it meted out by Alexia, a prodigious serial killer (and promising arsonist) who likes to stab her victims through the ear with her hair stick. If that sounds sentimental, fear not: The gospel according to Ducournau doesn’t let anyone off the hook so easily, the audience included. It follows the adult Alexia (a mesmerizing Agathe Rousselle) as she goes on a wild rampage, ditching one father only to be pulled into another’s embrace. An oil-slicked, neon-drenched, gender-and-fender-bending vroom-gasm of a movie, “Titane” also sometimes suggests a cheerfully deranged riff on the parable of the prodigal son. In the hands of writer-director Julia Ducournau, this knowingly transgressive horror odyssey is both nativity story and passion play - a tale of the old flesh being bent and broken as it gives birth to the Cronenbergian new. That plate is temporarily held in place by a metal brace that frames Alexia’s noggin like a halo, or perhaps a crown of thorns either way, the religious imagery is surely no accident. She emerges from this trauma with a permanent grudge against her father ( Bertrand Bonello) - bad dad, worse driver - and a large titanium plate surgically embedded in her skull. Not long into the French shocker “Titane,” 7-year-old Alexia (Adèle Guigue) is involved in a car accident that cracks her head open like a cantaloupe. Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic. ![]()
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