Championship Celluloid

RUBBER directed by QUENTIN DUPIEUX
There are so many tyred, formulaic films screening at the festival, it was a relief that something like RUBBER rolls in like a breath of fresh air.
Directed by Quentin Dupieux aka Mr Oizo of Flat Eric fame, it begins with a monologue about how various elements of films seem to happen for “no reason”; “In E.T. why is the alien brown? No reason”, “In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre why do you never see anyone go to the bathroom or wash their hands? No reason”, and RUBBER is an homage to the concept of no reason.
The concept is ridiculous. A tyre comes to life, falls for a beautiful girl and goes on a murderous rampage. Why? No f*cking reason, but it works because it knows that it is ridiculous.
Several spectators within the film then watch the action from afar and comment on the story as it unfolds; “her ass isn’t great”, “wouldn’t a tyre float?”, “this scene doesn’t make sense”, etc.
Stephen Spinella is great as the cop who knows that he is in a movie and acts accordingly, the object of the tyre’s affections looks like the French version of Lily Allen and as for Robert the tyre, he delivers the best performance by an inanimate object since Wilson in CASTAWAY.
This film will never see the light of day in a multiplex but is destined to become a cult classic on the arthouse circuit, especially since the tie-in marketing strategy included creating RUBBER branded condoms!
As long as you buy into the concept then there is much to enjoy in this convention defying movie that follows the adventures of a tyre that can blow up people’s heads with the power of its mind which is a gripping, funny slasher film that treads the fine line between the ridiculous and the surreal, constantly drives the action forward and never goes flat.

That's right, check out the number of tyre related puns in that review!