“Titane” asks…what if Kirby was *fully loaded*
A Transformer would hate to see her coming.
Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, Titane (2022) begs the question: what if Kirby was fully loaded?
A car model turned serial killer gets impregnated by a Cadillac, goes on a chopstick murdering spree, impersonates a missing boy, is taken in by the boy’s grieving father, eats loads of spaghetti, and eventually gives birth to her car baby in the arms of her new fire captain daddy. It’s make-you-flinch body horror meets tender-hearted found family. Titane is demented in the best possible way.
DIML as a car model
“Come with me as I do some magnificent Jacket Acting™1, model a Guy Fieri flamed out Cadillac at a car show, get assaulted by a fan, murder that fan with a chopstick, and have unprotected sex with said Cadillac.” –Alexia, if she had a TikTok.
Having suffered a near-fatal car accident as a child that resulted in reconstructing her skull with a titanium plate, Alexia has only been able to find comfort with cars. The apple of her eye is, of course, the flaming Cadillac from the car show slash her baby daddy but that doesn’t stop her from sleeping around with a fire truck along the way (but truth be told, it’s just not the same when it’s not with “the one”). In contrast, any human who tries to get close to her–even superficially–is destined for the chopstick.
Alexia feels seen by cars, it was her dad who got them into the accident but it was the car that saved her. And when she’s assaulted, it’s the Cadillac who seduces her but not without her consent.
Is it any surprise that she has to impersonate a boy to find unconditional love?
“GRWM as I shave my head and destroy my face to evade the police.” –Alexia
Now on the lam, Alexia poses as a missing boy named Adrien. It’s then that she’s introduced to Vincent, the father of the missing boy who takes her in and cares for her in a twisted way that is birthed from grief and too many steroids. As a woman, Alexia was preyed on. As a boy, she’s loved. But as her true identity is slowly revealed, it’s Vincent’s unconditional love that helps her through the horrendous birth of her car baby.
What do you do when you’ve found your long lost son? Make him spaghetti, obviously.
“What I eat in a day as a serial killer posing as a missing boy.” –Alexia
At the 51 minute mark we get our quintessential Spaghetti Scene. The first meal Vincent makes for Adrien’s homecoming is a big ol’ heap of spaghetti. Because nothing says “let’s go back to the way things were before it all got so fucked up” like al dente pasta and marinara sauce. This meal is used to share the care Vincent has for Adrien and the apprehension Alexia has for Vincent. But despite all of the subtext of the scene, the spaghetti grounds it into a normal family dinner. Spaghetti is the gateway to their loyalty, it’s through this thoughtful act that their new normal begins.
Imagine looking out your window and seeing the fire captain’s son on all fours giving birth to a car baby.
“POV at-home natural birth of my car baby” –Alexia
Throughout her entire life, Alexia couldn’t find anyone who matched her freak…until Vincent came along. Evading the police brought them together, spaghetti sparked their relationship, and the car baby was the answer to creating the family they were always looking for. I guess sometimes having a baby does solve everything.
Kirby could never.
Jacket Acting™ is when a lead in the film upstages themselves with a really cool jacket. Ryan Gosling is the biggest perpetrator of Jacket Acting™. See Drive and Blue Valentine.