THE NEON DEMON
Amazon 2016 Color 117 Mins.Horror/Thriller
Elle Fanning, Desmond Harrington, Keanu Reeves, Jena Malone, Christina Hendricks, Bella Heathcoat, Abbey Lee and Karl Glusman star.
Written and Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn
Rated R for Graphic Violence, Gore, Sexuality, language and Nudity.
I have so many thoughts about Neon Demon. It's the type of film that inspires conversations and analyzation. One that will surely do shitty business in it's initial release but over the years will gain a cult audience and become a midnight movie. It would be easy to dismiss it as a flashy failed attempt at Lynchesque cinema. But most of us cinephiles will find an experience rich in symbolism and doused in such a seductive, alluring visual intensity that it will plague our thoughts long after. The film centers on a young woman named Jesse played by Elle Fanning whose come to L.A. to be a model. She's a natural beauty that almost immediately finds success. While doing her first photo shoot with her disturbing but protective wannabe boyfriend Dean she meets a strange, aggressive makeup artist played by the ridiculously creepy Jena Malone. And after that she's taken to a strange party where she comes in contact with two other models. Gigi a young woman obsessed with perfecting herself through surgery and Sarah an insanely jealous young woman in constant fear of becoming irrelevant. We are also introduced to a slew of seemingly questionable characters like Desmond Harrington as a strange but successful photographer, Keanu Reeves as a threatening slime ball landlord, Christina Hendricks as an emotionless model agent and a few others. The film transforms half way through changing from a pulpy melodrama to a vicious hallucinogenic nightmare. After those final gorgeous credits roll it will be automatic for most to assume that Refn's approach was primarily visual and lacked any real depth. But if you look a little closer it's hard to miss the fact that his approach mirrors the characters and their lives in the film. Sure the people seem to have very little personality and not a lot of depth but their motivations are simplistic. In that it seems as though the characters resemble symbols instead of actual people. Now after having read online about the film and collected my own thoughts. I found it interesting that the people throughout the film began to resemble sins to me. Jesse is innocent at first but eventually gives into pride. Jena Malone's character is lust because of her appetite and obsession with Jesse, Gigi is gluttony because she can't stop stuffing herself with enhanced features, Dean is envy because of his relationship with Jesse and Sarah played by Abbey Lee seems to resemble wrath .Now all of the characters embody most of these sins but their simplistic motivations felt ultimately singular to me in their individual representation. It's also extremely interesting that the film's title seems to mirror a sort of possession among the female characters. The neon representing the flash and seduction of the business and the demon representing what they become when obsessed with the singular notion of outward beauty and the world that worships it. I also felt like the film was symbolic in it's representations of animals and the predator/prey relationship. Jesse represents an exotic animal. Her character is seen in the presence of cougars and leopards where as Jena Malone and the other girls are seen in the presence of wolves. I think it's interesting that Jesse is a little bit of a loner whose fine with making it on her own but the others feel like a pack, hunting in a group led by Malone and only striking when their all together. And i feel it's also important to point out how when the film begins it seems that the men in Jesse's life are the most threatening the opening scene shows Dean in a creepy obsessive mode as he photographs her. Also the introduction of Harrington as the aggressive photographer who asks for a closed set and Reeves in everything he does. But as the film moves forward and the women around her get jealous and spiteful you begin to realize how much more threatening and terrifying they are. Because of their simplistic ambitions it's hard to know what lengths they will go to, to achieve their goal and by the end that becomes all the more obvious. I mean honestly if you want to approach the film from a more supernatural angle it feels as if though Jesse may be the dark presence shrouded in innocence that makes them all the worst versions of themselves.
Now Honestly I could definitely be reaching and most of my thoughts on the material could be coincidental. Regardless Neon demon is that kind of film. One that pulls you in, makes you feel a bunch of different shit and ultimately leaves you fucked up. Refn is in his top game here I wasn't a big fan of Drive and didn't see Only God Forgives but appreciated Drive's overly stylish execution. His masterful approach to the material seems to be taken from Lynch, Argento and Cronenberg but is all his own. " Neon" is a stylish nightmare flooded with immersive visuals and drenched in lush mood altering colors. The score is remarkably entrancing from Cliff Martinez and Natasha Baier deserves an oscar for her remarkable eye. The performances are mostly impressive with a solid turn from Fanning in the lead. She makes Jesse likable and innocent and easy to root for even after her dark transformation. Jena Malone is also impressive as Ruby giving her a predatory but protective air leaving you feeling confused and scared and Keanu Reeves does some of his best work in years in a short but unlikable and effective turn and most impressive is Abbey Lee as Sara. we see her run through a gauntlet of relatable emotions before they come to an unexpected, ugly head. In the end the film will be something different for everyone. It will undoubtedly divide audiences as it's done with the critics. But it's hard to deny the striking visual power and subtle nightmarish prowess the film possesses. And for me at least that is something very, very special. ****.5/5
I have so many thoughts about Neon Demon. It's the type of film that inspires conversations and analyzation. One that will surely do shitty business in it's initial release but over the years will gain a cult audience and become a midnight movie. It would be easy to dismiss it as a flashy failed attempt at Lynchesque cinema. But most of us cinephiles will find an experience rich in symbolism and doused in such a seductive, alluring visual intensity that it will plague our thoughts long after. The film centers on a young woman named Jesse played by Elle Fanning whose come to L.A. to be a model. She's a natural beauty that almost immediately finds success. While doing her first photo shoot with her disturbing but protective wannabe boyfriend Dean she meets a strange, aggressive makeup artist played by the ridiculously creepy Jena Malone. And after that she's taken to a strange party where she comes in contact with two other models. Gigi a young woman obsessed with perfecting herself through surgery and Sarah an insanely jealous young woman in constant fear of becoming irrelevant. We are also introduced to a slew of seemingly questionable characters like Desmond Harrington as a strange but successful photographer, Keanu Reeves as a threatening slime ball landlord, Christina Hendricks as an emotionless model agent and a few others. The film transforms half way through changing from a pulpy melodrama to a vicious hallucinogenic nightmare. After those final gorgeous credits roll it will be automatic for most to assume that Refn's approach was primarily visual and lacked any real depth. But if you look a little closer it's hard to miss the fact that his approach mirrors the characters and their lives in the film. Sure the people seem to have very little personality and not a lot of depth but their motivations are simplistic. In that it seems as though the characters resemble symbols instead of actual people. Now after having read online about the film and collected my own thoughts. I found it interesting that the people throughout the film began to resemble sins to me. Jesse is innocent at first but eventually gives into pride. Jena Malone's character is lust because of her appetite and obsession with Jesse, Gigi is gluttony because she can't stop stuffing herself with enhanced features, Dean is envy because of his relationship with Jesse and Sarah played by Abbey Lee seems to resemble wrath .Now all of the characters embody most of these sins but their simplistic motivations felt ultimately singular to me in their individual representation. It's also extremely interesting that the film's title seems to mirror a sort of possession among the female characters. The neon representing the flash and seduction of the business and the demon representing what they become when obsessed with the singular notion of outward beauty and the world that worships it. I also felt like the film was symbolic in it's representations of animals and the predator/prey relationship. Jesse represents an exotic animal. Her character is seen in the presence of cougars and leopards where as Jena Malone and the other girls are seen in the presence of wolves. I think it's interesting that Jesse is a little bit of a loner whose fine with making it on her own but the others feel like a pack, hunting in a group led by Malone and only striking when their all together. And i feel it's also important to point out how when the film begins it seems that the men in Jesse's life are the most threatening the opening scene shows Dean in a creepy obsessive mode as he photographs her. Also the introduction of Harrington as the aggressive photographer who asks for a closed set and Reeves in everything he does. But as the film moves forward and the women around her get jealous and spiteful you begin to realize how much more threatening and terrifying they are. Because of their simplistic ambitions it's hard to know what lengths they will go to, to achieve their goal and by the end that becomes all the more obvious. I mean honestly if you want to approach the film from a more supernatural angle it feels as if though Jesse may be the dark presence shrouded in innocence that makes them all the worst versions of themselves.
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