ALPHA
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, and Mélissa Boros
Director: Julia Ducournau
ADRIANO
This is disappointing to say, but Alpha was a significant letdown. Writer/director Julia Ducournau tends to make visually engaging and thought-provoking films, but with Alpha, she’s uncharacteristically restrained. While I admire the emotional approach to her AIDS epidemic allegory, the nonsensical structure and overall tone are too grim to match the loose body horror, which is all further emphasized by a drab grey colour palette. I get the stylistic intention, but it just falls flat. It’s not due to a lack of trying, but Ducournau’s ambitions aren’t as effective as usual.
BODE
Where do you go after making such a wild sophomore feature (Titane), and winning a Palme d’Or for it? If you’re Julia Ducournau, you go the opposite of wild. Alpha finds the filmmaker using her love of body horror in the most restrained manner, weaving an allegorical tale about the stigma of disease and its devastating effects. It’s well-intentioned, and has its fair share of solid performances and evocative imagery. But with how sullen, disjointed, and frankly hollow much of this film is, I found it difficult to invest in its world even remotely. I appreciate the swing, but this is ultimately a miss.
