While “Titane” boasts an abundance of body horror - pregnant breasts engorged with motor oil, metal tearing through skin, cranial fluid frothing out of a punctured ear - it’s the lead character, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), who is the most unsettling part of the film.
Unabashedly violent and full of big ideas, this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner, directed by Julia Ducournau (“Raw”), has stunned its way into becoming one of 2021’s most notable films. 'Titane' A still from "Titane." Carole Bethuel / NEON “ Swan Song ” is available on Hulu and various video-on-demand platforms. Pat was the perfect style icon during a year when fashion was summed up as: anything goes. Kier’s eccentrically dressed and charismatic Mr. Along the way, he mourns his loved ones lost to the AIDS epidemic and celebrates the life that’s left to live. Pat, as he’s affectionately known to everyone in the small town, escapes his nursing home for one last big adventure: styling local celebrity and ex-client Rita for her funeral. Set in Stephens’ hometown of Sandusky, the film is a love letter to the real-life hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger, played by Kier, and the flamboyance of yesteryear’s gay culture. 'Swan Song'The final film in director Todd Stephens’ Ohio trilogy, “Swan Song” features the inspired combination of Udo Kier and small town USA.
Udo Kier in "Swan Song." Chris Stephens / Magnolia Pictures “ The World to Come ” is available on Hulu and various video-on-demand platforms. When the film arrived around the one-year mark of the pandemic, it gave viewers a much-needed reason to weep - unrelated to lockdown. But nothing comes easy on the frontier: The two contend with Tallie’s cruel, controlling husband, played by Christopher Abbott, and the harsh, though beautiful, landscape that surrounds them.
Based on a short story by Jim Shepard, who also co-wrote the screenplay, the film follows neighbors Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) as they discover a romance unimaginable within the confines of their marriages.