Biker gangs, apparitions from the afterlife and a heist are all a part of the fabric of Lola Quivoron’s Rodeo. The director brings these elements together to tell a familiar story of a woman seeking stability in the unstable world of motorized biking. Caught in the throes of a male-dominated sub-culture, Quivoron implements hazy dreamscapes within a hard, abrasive backdrop.
A tenacious and troubled Julia (Julie Ledru) is drawn to a group of male bikers who make a living fixing up stolen bikes and selling them. Abandoning her day job and a mundane life with her family, she joins their crew and aspires to pull off the heist of her dreams. Ledru switches from nonchalant to downright spiteful in a matter of moments, which seems to capture the pace of the film as well. Stunt work is done authentically while still incorporating the stylishness of biker culture. Parallel shots of Julia riding with liberated abandon seem to pinpoint the fleeting instances of serenity she feels before her plans fall through and she makes more enemies than intended. Cinematography by Raphaël Vandenbussche agrees with our protagonist’s perspective of being an outsider to a dangerous group of heist artists with extreme shakiness paired with relaxed wide shots of freedom bike rides.
Rodeo works best when it considers the vulnerability of male-dominated spaces. We get some great realism when Julia’s colleague Abra (Dave Nsaman) suffers a fatal accident that forces his group to recognize their mortality in a spiritual kind of appreciation for each other. Julia seems to be mindful of her closeness to death, which appears to her in dreams that leave both a mental and physical reminder of the danger she puts herself in. But it feels like the surrealism is merely an anchor to help make sense of her connection with her deceased and short lived mentor. This along with its resolution seem to come too quickly, with not enough time to let the plot flow naturally. There’s a lot to be yearned for with Julia’s sole female companion (Antonia Buresi), the wife of the gang’s sleazy supplier, and their relationship might have deepened with additional screen time. Especially in its last sequence, ends are tied up in a way that shocks with how apathetically it treats its own protagonist.
A semi-heist film with a touch of surrealism and a dash of female rage, Rodeo seems to have too much going on for its own good. There’s a lot that seems cohesive when zoomed in, but the big picture doesn’t give each aspect enough time for the whole to melt together as a unit. High points surely the incredible stunt work, and Ledru truly carries the film through its inconsistencies, along with some cool-factor points with its gritty aesthetic and cinematography. A lot of Rodeo is insanely fresh, but just needs to be a little louder, hit a little harder and go a little deeper. As jagged as its characters, the film has a sharpness that feels more discombobulated than intended.
Photo courtesy of Music Box Films
The post Rodeo appeared first on Spectrum Culture.
