The Neon Demon
The Neon Demonis a stylishly surreal, but hollow, horror/thriller - and another Nicolas Winding Refn film bound to divide audiences.
The Neon Demonstars Elle Fanning as Jesse , a stripling who moves out to Los Angeles in pursuit of a modeling vocation . There , Jesse is befriended by a makeup artist named Ruby ( Jena Malone ) , who usher in her to a couple of more experienced models - Sarah ( Abbey Lee ) and Gigi ( Bella Heathcote ) - and help her to adjust to life in L.A. and the metropolis ’s eclectic cultivation . While Jesse ’s competition at first admire her looks but regard her as little more than yet another pocket-size - town girl with big dream , Jesse is quickly picked up by a modeling agency repp ( Christina Hendricks ) who recognize that she by nature has the sort of appearance that will appeal to men working in the modeling diligence .
Sure enough , Jesse soon finds herself being fawned over by influential male photographers and fashion designers in a way that none of the other woman around her are . As Jesse ’s star rises and those around her Menachem Begin get a line her as a terror ( and become disturbingly obsess with her ) , it becomes less and less clean-cut whether Jessie truly is an innocent Elia now being preyed upon by wolves or a brute dressed in sheep ’s clothing … and just how much real bloodlust there is among those who populate in the City of Angels .
Polarizing films are nothing new for Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn ( The Pushertrilogy , Valhalla Rising , Drive ) , so it ’s not surprising thatThe Neon Demon- which Refn co - indite in gain to conduct - schism audience during its duty tour on the film festival circuit ( especially the Cannes Film Festival ) prior to its wide theatrical release . Its controversial general response apart , though , Neon Demonis not Refn ’s weakest directorial effort to date - but , is it not his good film , either . What makesNeon Demonan interesting accession to Refn ’s filmography is that it explores the dark side of women ( not man , like in Refn ’s previous work ) - and how that dark stem from ethnic attitudes about the value of their appearance and " beauty " , through a series of horror and psycho - thriller tropes .
From its very first shot , The Neon Demonexamines the fetishization of fierce mental imagery featuring woman in popular forms of media - a subject the film further examines through the poser industriousness in particular , where ordinary photo session play out like offense scenes and photographers arrive off as unfeeling voyeur who ( as the models put it ) " shoot " their conscientious objector - workers for a support . Neon Demonpresents an challenging vision of the L.A. mannikin hoagy - civilisation that is mould by misogyny , self-love , and drink down - or - be - killed attitudes at every twist , via a tale that ( like those in most Refn films ) unfolds as a waking dream - that is , one that at first seems to be about actual people in the real world , but where everything bit by bit appears to take place in a ( darkly comical ) nightmare . IfDriveis Refn ’s homage to , say , Steve McQueen action / thriller , thenNeon Demonis the conductor ’s flashy pastiche of dark showbiz stories in the venous blood vessel ofValley of the Dolls- with more than a few nods to supernatural repugnance moving picture ( some classics , some inner circle classic ) that are best left unspoiled forwards of fourth dimension .
However , Neon Demondoesn’t deconstruct the molding world so much as it presents a troubling vision of it in Refn ’s trademark filmmaking style - one that walks the parentage between high graphics and stylized , yet pulpy exploitation . Refn and cinematographer Natasha Braier ( The Rover ) make a handful of salient , if great - handed , visual motifs throughout the film - notably that of characters admiring themselves in mirrors - but even the film ’s more nonobjective imagination does n’t extend much insight into either the world or quality that are boast here , beyond what ’s patent at first coup d’oeil . As telling asNeon Demonis in terms of craftsmanship , from the punctilious camerawork to the moody electronica sexual conquest from composer Cliff Martinez ( who antecedently collaborate with Refn onDriveandOnly God Forgives ) , there ’s not much going on below the surface .
Similarly , the actual story through - blood forNeon Demon- which Refn co - wrote with Mary Laws and Polly Stenham - is lowly to the motion-picture show ’s sense of atmosphere and moments of on - the - nose symbolism . The movie ’s characters are closer to being walk metaphors themselves rather than in full - develop individual or even original - still , Neon Demon ’s account consume enough unnerving twist and turns to maintain a sense of suspense around just what any one character may do next , or just how far they ’re willing to go to get what they desire . Although the mass inNeon Demonspeak with even more measured pauses and less inflection than they have in Refn films past , the performance from leads Elle Fanning ( Maleficent ) , Jena Malone ( The Hunger Games ) , Bella Heathcote ( Dark Shadows ) , and Abbey Lee ( Mad Max : Fury Road ) as well help instill their respective characters with sparks of mankind - both goodandbad .
There are a fistful of well - found fibre player who show up inNeon Demontoo . That includesMad Menalum Christina Hendricks ( who also collaborated with Refn before onDrive ) as a cynically - pragmatical modeling agency representative , as well as Alessandro Nivola ( American Hustle ) as a sleeveless fashion interior designer , andDexteralum Desmond Harrington as ( appropriately enough ) an unsettlingly neutral , yet celebrate , photographer . However , the tantrum - stealing member ofNeon Demon ’s secondary hurl is well Keanu Reeves as Hank , the joyfully unscrupulous ( and immoral ) director of the motel where Jesse stay . The hold form inNeon Demondo all right work with what they are given , but like the film ’s lead they are playing characters who interpret specific ideas - as opposed to being in full - developed people .
The Neon Demonis a stylishly surreal , but vacuous , horror / thriller - and another Nicolas Winding Refn film bound to divide audiences . Where some will find deep layers of meaning and symbolism in its narrative , others will feelNeon Demonhas niggling on its idea beyond what is obvious on the surface . With respect to Refn ’s recent oeuvre , Neon Demonis ( arguably ) a more cohesive arthouse filmmaking recitation thanOnly God Forgives , but is n’t as soundly construct asDrive- nor does it intermix poetic stylistic flourishes with narrative nitty-gritty as well . Filmgoers who are looking for something in between the " extreme " of Refn ’s last two movie may need to checkNeon Demonout - but if you ’ve never been a fan of the movie maker ’s output to appointment , this one probably wo n’t alter your mind either .
TRAILER
The Neon Demonis now play in U.S. theaters . It is 117 minutes long and is Rated R for disturbing violent content , flaming images , graphical nudeness , a scene of aberrant gender , and lyric .
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The Neon Demon is a psychological horror celluloid directed by Nicolas Winding Refn . The story revolve around Jesse , an wishful model played by Elle Fanning , who incite to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion . She cursorily discovers the dark and competitive underbelly of the clay sculpture world , where mantrap becomes a grave currency . The film co - stars Jena Malone , Bella Heathcote , and Keanu Reeves .
Abbey Lee in The Neon Demon
Abbey Lee in The Neon Demon
