The Neon Demon

Going into this film, I didn't truly know what to expect. All I knew was that the promotional images really captured my attention, due to the pretty colors, with up-and-coming actress, Elle Fanning in the center. A "nymphet" Tumblr blog I follow also re-blogged images from this. It's some kind of horror (I read the sex/nudity descriptions in the parental guidance section here prior to viewing) that has very mixed reviews.

Much of the the first two acts is relatively slow and realistic. It's got great visuals, despite two scenes with annoying flashing lights. The trip-hop soundtrack by Cliff Martinez is also ear-catching. But, boy, was I not expecting such a final act! Thinking back on it, there's a decent amount of foreshadowing leading up to it. As the track titled, "Are We Having a Party" played over, my eyes were widened as I realized what had happened to Jesse (Fanning). In spite of its disturbing aspects (notably, a scene involving necrophilia), I ended up really liking The Neon Demon. I appreciate how it chose to make audiences uncomfortable rather than the usual "lesbianism is hot~" excuse (ie Birdman). There are critics who hate and/or have called this misogynistic, and I can completely understand why; but that doesn't wane my enjoyment of it.

On the official movie discussion on Reddit, users have called this "David Lynch meets Black Swan," which I also happen to agree with.

It was great to see Abbey Kershaw on-screen again after her debut in Mad Max: Fury Road - also kind of funny her playing an aspiring model, considering she already works as one in real-life; can't wait to see what else she and Fanning have to offer in future projects!

Learning that the director, Nicholas Refn, was born colorblind is very surprising, since his movies are so awashed with vivid colors. I'm planning on watching Only God Forgives and Drive next (the latter generally being considered his best work).

There appear to be some who think this is a movie about the fashion industry. If so, it has about as much to say about fashion as "Suspira" has to say about ballet. Really, this film is about obsession, loneliness, fear and the crippling tension of being on constant guard against the attack of predators. Alone and vulnerable in Los Angeles, Jesse (Elle Fanning) is a skittish prey animal surrounded by the dangers of the urban jungle. As she navigates the threats around her, she transforms into a kind of predator herself. But she will soon discover that not all killers hunt alone.

Having seen previous films by Nicolas Winding Refn and consider Drive to be a masterpiece, had little expectations for this film. There is certainly some influences within Drive in the Neon Demon but this film is closer to Only God Forgives in terms of quality.

Now his films are certain art house pieces and we can see as to why many people would dislike this film. It is most certainly for an acquired taste and not for everyone.

As the film, well done visuals and the camera angles and set pieces are nice to look at but after a while the story line becomes predictable and cliche. There are some intrigue at first then suddenly flares off a little. There are certainly several bizarre and more disturbing scenes towards the end which stand out.

This film isn't perfect, yet isn't completely awful. It is a step up from OGF but not on the level of Drive.

The Neon Demon (2016)

*** (out of 4)

Sixteen-year-old Jesse (Elle Fanning) arrives in Hollywood with big dreams of becoming a famous model but soon she realizes there is always a price to pay.

In my opinion Nicolas Winding Refn's DRIVE was one of the best movies from the past couple decades and he followed that up with the so-great-it's-awful or so-awful-it's-great ONLY GOD FORGIVES. As strange as that film was there's really nothing that can prepare you for THE NEON DEMON. I'm not going to spend too much time on the plot but lets just say that the less you know the better. In fact, revealing too much plot would ruin some fairly bizarre twists so be sure you don't read too much detail.

As far as the film goes, it's visually a masterpiece and technically it's one of the greatest films from recent memory. The film certainly has a very European feel to it and it appears that the director was inspired by various Italian filmmakers including Dario Argento and Mario Bava. I can't help but think that SUSPIRIA was a major influence and especially the visual look of the film as well as how the music plays in the madness. The cinematography here is among the best that you'll see in any movie and there's no doubt that the director knows how to make something surreal and bizarre.

The story itself is one we've seen countless times before. We learn that Hollywood is evil. Women are sadistic on each other and especially their looks. Men are perverted creeps. The film will probably "say" something different to everyone who watches it but I do think there were some major plus. One being that the film takes way too long to get to where it's going. I thought the build up to the final act dragged on a tad bit too long and I think a shorter film probably would have really helped the psychological aspect of the film.

One of the greatest things about the movie was the performance of Fanning. I was really shocked at how wonderful she was in the film because she's basically playing a naive and innocent girl who finds herself in a world she's just not ready for. The way Fanning showed off her innocence was really something remarkable and her transformation works extremely well and it's very believable. Christina Hendricks, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote and Karl Glusman are all extremely good as well. Both Abbey Lee and Keanu Reeves are also very good in their supporting roles.

Again, I'm not going to spoil anything but the entire film is downright strange and surreal but the final act takes a turn that will have most people leaving the theater, if they're still even there. This certainly isn't going to be a film for everyone and like the director's previous movies it's easy to see how people would walk out very early on. Those who don't mind challenging movies will certainly find a lot of great things here but I only wish it had been a little bit tighter.

This film tells the story of a sixteen years old girl who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her modeling dream. She knows that she's beautiful, and quickly establishes herself in the modeling world. Jealousy from other models quickly ensue, with undesirable results.

The beginning of "The Neon Demon" looks quite promising, as it retains the beautiful visuals that Nicholas Winding Refn is known for, but is upbeat because of the electronic music. The plot looks quite interesting as it tells the story of jealous, backstabbing models. Then, the story is interspersed between many visually stunning but purposeless scenes. The ending of the film becomes really bizarre, I got so lost and just could not believe what I was watching. I don't even know what the second half of the film is about, except that it wants to be very provocative. If the film could be consistently like the first half, I would actually have liked it.