Roaring into cinemas in the weeks before Fast X, Lola Quivoron’s belting feminist biker flick reminds us that green screen and explosions are a poor substitute for genuine road racing.
Anchored by a fierce performance by the phenomenal newcomer Julie Ledru, a biker discovered by the writer-director on Instagram, the Cannes breakout Rodeo offers a thrilling detour through the underground subculture of cross-bitume (or stunt bike riding) in Greater Paris.
The film’s heroine, Julia, accordingly, gets her kicks by stealing bikes from suburbanites who are selling them online. “I was born with a bike between my legs,” she tells an unsuspecting mark, offering her bag as collateral before disappearing over the horizon on a supposed tryout.
Her bike-stealing skills attract the attention of Domino (Sébastian Schroeder), a gang leader who rules his crew from prison, via FaceTime. Julia is not a universally welcomed addition to the ranks; these riders are far too cool and edgy for Vin Diesel family speeches and sentimentality.
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She does strike up something like friendship with a motor head called Kaïs (Yanis Lafki) and Domino’s unfortunate sequestered wife, Ophélie (played by the film’s co-writer Antonia Buresi). Mostly, Julia is here for the revving and as an escape from her volatile family and poverty.
Quivoron previously explored the world of cross-bitume in the 2016 short Dreaming of Baltimore. Rodeo’s largely amateur cast add to the electrifying authenticity of the film. A late heist as the gang attempt to boost a shipment of mean machines marries realism and nail-biting action. The B-movie energy of the traditional biker film is customised by Raphaël Vandenbussche’s daredevil camerawork and an appropriately banging soundtrack, which includes 70 Shine and XXXTentacion.
Every scene, every ride and every development feels dangerous and combustible.
Rodeo opens on Friday, April 28th
