Titane

This is like a Palahniuk book on screen...so many bizarre elements that somehow work together and are meant to as a means of conveying a message. There are so many things to highlight about this movie. Where do I begin?? I guess we can start from the beginning where the metal plate in Alexia's head being inserted as a child made her attracted to cars?? I guess she sort of had a thing for cars as a kid, but the metal plate realllly took things to another level. We see her as an adult in the next scene being a dancer for a car show (she's realllly gettin off in her element here). This is the first time the theme of gender "norms" comes into play. This scene is one of the first to allude to women being objects just like the cars they are dancing on. It shows how obsessed some of the men become and they show one man in particular that thinks he has the right to go up to Alexia and ask for (not only an autograph), but a full on make-out sesh! I mean...doesn't last long because Alexia has a bloodthirst too (or maybe it's just such an immense detachment and being fed up) and kills the dude. As she is on the run, she is identified by a man who claims her as his estranged son, Adrian. This is where many themes start surfacing, the main one being the need to feel needed and belong. Both of the parties knew from the very beginning that they were not who they appeared to be. The man is a very decorated fire fighter, but deep down is a very insecure man who is obsessed with appearing physically masculine and cannot cope with the fact that his son is not in his life. Even the wife knows (especially when she sees that baby bump) and all she wants is for her to take care of him. Alexia seems to need it too and becomes sort of a toxic symbiotic relationship. It is shown in the beginning how emotionally vacant her dad when she was a child and that carried on through her adulthood. It was refreshing to be care for by someone so intensely even though it was for the wrong reasons. The theme of needing to be needed really shines here. You can tell that the man has had this desire for a while by his career path as a fire fighter. They are literally needed for disasters whether big or small. This is especially displayed when Alexia finally cannot hide the pregnancy and starts giving birth on his bed (after some weird sexual tension? Human connection is a funny thing). At first, he is resistant, from the shock that she is a woman and pregnant, but then he sees that he is needed and that changes his whole demeanor. He helps her deliver the half metal biomechanical baby and Alexia passes away from what we can assume is pure physical stress (and her abdomen become metallic?). What a weird movie and I loved it! Not as brutal as some people were saying...

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (wow! it's kind of a niche movie so I wonder if the cult fans are the main contributors of the rating)

My rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars!