Rodeo

Quivoron’s feature debut is so singular, so thrilling, that it will hopefully escape without being sucked into the remake machine.

Thrumming with energy—thanks to vivacious filmmaking from director Lola Quivoron and a ferocious lead performance by newcomer Julie Ledru—Rodeo takes place within the world of underground motocross in the suburbs of Paris.

It is, first and foremost, a blistering character study, raw in its power and realism, its beats as unpredictable as its protagonist. I’d say buckle up, but dirt bikes don’t have seat belts.

Rodeo looks like a documentary but finally makes a reckless swerve toward the mythic.

Rodeo is a daring and impressive debut feature that accomplishes something wonderful about movies: it explores a world that few know with a bracing intimacy and genuine respect for the subject. While it typically succeeds, it's thin plot and weak characters outside of Julia, as well as a reliance on repetition, prevent the film from being truly brilliant.

Rodeo is caught between arthouse character study and stylish heist thriller, the two genres never making for easy bedfellows. For all its merits, not even a commanding lead performance can thread these two disparate tones.

Rodeo is a movie that’s all surface, all present tense, all too-cool-to-be-anything-but-French-vérité gestures.