Julia Ducournau Returns to Cannes with Divisive Horror Film, "Alpha"

[the following review is spoiler-free]

This year, previous Palm d'Or winner, Julia Ducournau made her return to Cannes after winning the festival's top prize in 2021 with her film, Titane. Her newest project, Alpha made its debut last week to thousands of eager audience members, waiting with baited breath to see what the director has been working on since her magnum opus. After making such an incredible film like Titane, audience expectations were reasonably high at the premiere of Alpha, but unlike her last project, the reaction was far from unanimous acclaim.

Alpha is a body horror drama that follows the story of the titular character, a hedonistic thirteen year old living with her single mother while a new disease creeps its way through France, slowly turning its victims into marble. After coming home from school with a new, haphazardly-done tattoo on her arm, Alpha's mother is convinced she has caught the disease. Throughout the runtime, we also watch Alpha explore her relationship with her estranged uncle, Amin, a drug addict with no regard for his own health and safety.

The film stars Mélissa Boros, Golshifteh Farahani, and Tahar Rahim who all give incredible, heart-wrenching performances. It's clear that Julia Ducournau is dead-set on further exploring the concept of body horror in her art, but Alpha is perhaps her most tame yet. Which may seem insane but considering that her two other projects are about cannibalism and human-car hybrids, it's undoubtedly true. Nobody is going to a Ducournau film expecting to see something family friendly, they're planning to see something shocking, something that makes you think "how the hell do you come up with that?"

While Alpha can arguably be described as an unorthodox coming-of-age film, there is a quiet looming threat of contagion throughout the runtime. The audience sees Alpha's mother fear for her daughter's life, terrified that she'll end up like her uncle who has been slowly dying after catching it from needles. Critics have been quick to point out that this unnamed marble disease is a clear allegory to HIV/AIDS and the epidemic in the 80's/90's that left millions dead after a painful battle. It's easy to empathize with Alpha as a character who despite living in this modern hellscape, is still just a child, experiencing the worst the world has to offer.

Despite being well shot and acted, Alpha is a deeply flawed film. There are several moments that feel as if they only exist to confuse the audience from switching actors midway through scenes, to the downright baffling song choice of "Let It Happen" by Tame Impala, which left theater-goers turning to their side, wondering if the person next to them was also hearing the same thing.

Attendees at Cannes this year were advised before seeing Alpha that the film is very gruesome and at times downright nauseating, but I had the polar opposite issue with the movie. After her last two projects, Julia Ducournau has established herself as a filmmaker who is willing to push the line of what it considered acceptable, to tell stories no one else could come up with, and to show some of the most shocking visuals imaginable, But with Alpha, I feel like she didn't go far enough. Calling this a "body horror" film is being lenient, similar to how I Saw The TV Glow was called a "horror." Aside from a few bodily sores, scratches, and blood, the film doesn't really lean into the genre like Ducournau has in the past.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Alpha is the makeup and visual effects when it comes to the hospital patients, slowly turning into marble. I wish that was explored further than just a few brief scenes. As an audience member, I wanted to know how the disease works, how it spreads, how long the patients have to live. The contagious disease aspect of Alpha is easily the most intriguing part of the story and the way these poor victims gradually become statues with nothing being done to stop it is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. The film's strongest scene is near the end when an important character is fully overtaken of the disease and begs not to be resuscitated. It's even more tragic when you remember that this was the harsh reality for millions in the 80's, watching their own bodies or their partners waste away from a disease with no cure.

While Alpha is perhaps Julia Ducournau's weakest film to date, it is still a powerful film about addiction, loss, and witnessing the horrors of the world through the eyes of a child. It's not a far stretch to think that the immense success of Titane raised expectations impossibly high for this film. It still remains one of the harder tickets to acquire at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

There's no doubt in my mind that we will be seeing more of the astonishing lead actress, Mélissa Boros in the future. Above all, Alpha is a flawed film with a strong vision and a good amount of heart, let's just hope that for her next film, Ducournau goes further.