Dir. Julia Ducournau | Now Streaming On: Hulu | Rating: 2/5

Like its predecessor Raw, Titane received buzz for its graphic and bizarre take on the horror genre. It received virtually uncontested acclaim after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2021. As someone who really enjoyed Ducournau’s debut, I found Titane to be a disjointed mess of a story.

Titane swings hard with its originality. The narrative attempts to wrangle with ideas of femininity, bodily autonomy, and identity but ultimately loses itself in its trippy storytelling. I don’t want to spoil anything but essentially, this film tells Alexia’s journey as she loses control of her body and her identity.

The body horror is intense, arguably much more disturbing than Raw. There is an interesting juxtaposition between Alexia’s body and machinery, which could be a nod to the commodification of the female body by society. The key words here are “could be,” since this isn’t delved deeply into. I’m not going to unpack Alexia’s portrayal as “Adrien,” and the seemingly out of place side story with Vincent, but some audiences have viewed this element as heavy handed and transphobic.

Though an important film based on its imagery and relationship to current events, Titane is not particularly palatable and leaves an average viewer feeling confused. From my research after finishing this film, I discovered the theme of titanium has more influence on the storyline under the first look. Titanium is typically a safe implant grade metal, but in some cases can cause toxicity. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to view Alexia’s downward spiral as a direct result of her titanium implant. Then again, I’m not really sure how we’re supposed to view this at all.

My biggest critique of Titane is that it throws audiences through the ringer, with extreme body horror and violence, for a depressing ending and overall confusing story. I find that following directors is often like following musical artists – let’s hope Titane is Ducournau’s experimental album.

Know Before You Watch: Features extreme body horror, blood, death, nudity, sex.