Rubber

Rubber

Directed By: Quentin Dupieux

Written By: Quentin Dupiex

Produced By: Julian Berlan, Gregory Bernard

Cast: Stephen Spinella, Roxanne, Mesquida, Jack Plotnick

Plot: In an American desert, an abandoned tire comes to life, and embarks on a killing spree using psychic powers.

I once believed that Richard Kelly's 'Donnie Darko' was the strangest film I had ever watched, as of now, I have proved myself wrong. This is French director/musician, Quentin Depieux's second film, he has both written and directed this absurdly stylish feature. The idea is completely surreal, "an inanimate object comes to life and kills people". Its logic is questionable, how does this tire see? How does it hear? Does it have a brain? Where do these "powers" come from? The list could go on.

The film starts off with a small town sheriff speaking as if he is breaking the fourth wall, communicating with the audience, telling us about how most films have "no reason". He finishes his speech by announcing that this film too, has no reason. As he drives away, we see that he was actually talking to a group of people, who are given binoculars, and watch the events unfold. This could be some kind of subliminal metaphor about the worlds leaders and governments watching us at all times via CCTV and telephone hacking. That they are aware of everything we do or say.

There is no real logic behind the tire's lethal rampage, killing without mercy. The tire becomes a movie villain in its own right. The film has a certain, arthouse film feel to it, with relatively unknown actors and actresses,and a bizarre scenario. I do think that 82 minutes is a little too eager, and you may find that after an hour, things start to drag slightly. The films ending makes us believe that it is destined for a sequel, and I dare Dupieux to make an attempt at an even more bizarrely entertaining arthouse style film.

Eammon Jacobs