Screenplay by Mary Laws, Nicolas Winding Refn, Polly Stenham
Starring: Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves
Music by: Cliff Martinez
Language: English
Rating: 3/5
Nicolas Winding Refn is definitely one of the best directors of our time – or at least one of the most promising – and he surely confirmed this with The Neon Demon, a glamorous, dark psychological horror where every scene is composed with an aseptic, elegant, obsessive attention to detail.
This is the style the Danish director is developing in years, something actually distant from Bronson’s aesthetics: as Refn finally entered Hollywood’s realm (with Drive), his style turned into something more sophisticated and visionary, something that lies between Tom Ford and David Lynch. It was already possible to witness this change in Only God Forgives but it’s with The Neon Demon that Refn’s intentions became utterly clear.
The problems is Refn is also becoming so self-absorbed to keep referencing his own aesthetics, leaving the rest aside. Like? A good plot. Or a proper characterization of his mannequins, who now look all empty and vague. And, sure, it’s cool to make minimal, slow-paced, aseptic movies starring young, good looking, soul-less actors like Ryan Gosling (Drive, Only God Forgives) or Elle Fanning, but the result is no one can actually feel some empathy for the characters they are asked to interpret or relate to them. Poor acting skills? Could be, but this does not seem to be the case. Director’s choices are here to blame in my humble opinion, even though I still believe Refn has a great potential to express.
The Neon Demon is about Jesse (Elle Fanning), an aspiring model whose natural beauty captivates everyone around. It does not take a long time before this overwhelming charm generates unwanted attentions and arouse envy among other girls within the industry. And Jesse, who is initially depicted as a helpless, naïve, little thing with a strong lack of confidence, soon decides to fully embrace the power of her beauty and turns into a narcissistic, arrogant teen revealing her true, “demonic” nature.
The movie does not show much from a kinky perspective, but being entirely focused on beauty and fascination it transpires sexual tension and subtle eroticism in all its length. Even when sex is completely missing from the scene: the test shoot with Jack, the professional photographer, is a good example of that.
*** SPOILER ALERT: SKIP IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO WATCH THE MOVIE ***
No sex is involved but still, it’s there, as Jack, who shows an indubitable dominant character, orders Jesse to pose fully naked, paint her body with his hands and mold her posture like a sculptor with a piece of clay. Yes, here I am talking about some kind of objectification.
The dream where Keanu Reeves - now a sinister motel manager - forces the girl to keeps her mouth wide as he slides a big knife in her throat might also trigger some dirty minds.
The dream where Keanu Reeves - now a sinister motel manager - forces the girl to keeps her mouth wide as he slides a big knife in her throat might also trigger some dirty minds.
Paradoxically, the most explicit scenes are not as interesting as those where sex is entirely missing: there is, for example, a long lesbian, necrophiliac scene (don’t be surprised: blood baths and cannibalism are also featured in this elegantly gross movie) but it’s probably there just for the director’s pleasure in shocking the audience
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What we have in the end is not a must-watch masterpiece but if on a Friday night you have nothing better to do, well, The Neon Demon might still be an esthetically pleasant way to waste two hours of your time with a plot-less, visionary movie from a director I hope to see soon at his best again.
