First off, this is not a feel good movie. This is a WTF kind of film. If you loved Drive but cringed when Cranston got his arm cut, prepare for another visceral endeavor. Neon Demon starts off cautionary, transcends surreal (several times), and then goes full on horror/thriller. The conclusion is absolutely WTF.
From the minute the shutters flash in the beginning with Jesse (Fanning) posing for an amateur shoot, we're aware that she's in way over her head. Naïve, underage, beautiful, vulnerable, she's a girl chasing a dream about to be swallowed by a world all too used to eating through potential starlets; Hollywood, CA. She befriends Ruby (Malone), a Sapphic make-up prof who moonlights as a morgue assistant at night. Ruby is intermingled to a posse of veteran models who already know the ropes of the Hollywood machine and take no time sticking Fanning in her place to avoid a potential talent uprising. Drama ensues.
Being the attractive magnet that she is, Jesse must play smart in a world full of cutthroat talent scouts, agency reps, love interests, rapist motel clerks, and jealous peers. But will she use intuition to avoid the malaise of the glamorous, or be sucked into it's vapid vortex? You'll need watch Neon Demon to find out for yourself, but the conclusion (while fairly obvious) is startling.
Pacing is on track, scary, then scarier, then startling, and then ultimately "how the hell did they film this?" moments. Acting is also on point, in particular Malone and Hendricks are my absolute favorites. Hendricks unfortunately doesn't have a lot of screen time in this, pretty much limited to one scene, but this is about the most believable role I've seen her in. Malone, dear God. This is THE girl we need to watch out for. If you thought she stole the show in Catching Fire, see her in this. Keanu plays a character that is simply dripping with slime. And while the models are absolutely plastic, the gravitas in their performance is nothing short of a forewarning about what modeling in the fashion world is really like. Harrington and Glusman are equally as empty, portraying a world in which superficiality is the ONLY thing (incredible casting for Harrington, you're almost afraid of him the first time you watch the movie). Lastly, Fanning is a delight. Clean, sweet, pretty, fragile, and then at one point develops into The Demon, she changes at the same pace the movie unfolds. This is a surreal flick (it is a Refn film), so expect flash montages, saturated vibrant colors, glitter, body landscapes, pools of blood, moonlight, pure white, the most perfect blacks, liquids, slow-mo, nipples, vulvae, absolute violence, beautiful decay, the gorgeous. The movie's soundtrack could have its own introduction, bass thumping, soft undertones, electronica, and just about anything you can think of on the catwalk present. This IS a cult title in the same vein as Scanner Darkly, Spring Breakers, Traffic, Blow, Boogie Nights, and any other film that tells you what the real price is for living in the fast lane.
You've been warned.
From the minute the shutters flash in the beginning with Jesse (Fanning) posing for an amateur shoot, we're aware that she's in way over her head. Naïve, underage, beautiful, vulnerable, she's a girl chasing a dream about to be swallowed by a world all too used to eating through potential starlets; Hollywood, CA. She befriends Ruby (Malone), a Sapphic make-up prof who moonlights as a morgue assistant at night. Ruby is intermingled to a posse of veteran models who already know the ropes of the Hollywood machine and take no time sticking Fanning in her place to avoid a potential talent uprising. Drama ensues.
Being the attractive magnet that she is, Jesse must play smart in a world full of cutthroat talent scouts, agency reps, love interests, rapist motel clerks, and jealous peers. But will she use intuition to avoid the malaise of the glamorous, or be sucked into it's vapid vortex? You'll need watch Neon Demon to find out for yourself, but the conclusion (while fairly obvious) is startling.
Pacing is on track, scary, then scarier, then startling, and then ultimately "how the hell did they film this?" moments. Acting is also on point, in particular Malone and Hendricks are my absolute favorites. Hendricks unfortunately doesn't have a lot of screen time in this, pretty much limited to one scene, but this is about the most believable role I've seen her in. Malone, dear God. This is THE girl we need to watch out for. If you thought she stole the show in Catching Fire, see her in this. Keanu plays a character that is simply dripping with slime. And while the models are absolutely plastic, the gravitas in their performance is nothing short of a forewarning about what modeling in the fashion world is really like. Harrington and Glusman are equally as empty, portraying a world in which superficiality is the ONLY thing (incredible casting for Harrington, you're almost afraid of him the first time you watch the movie). Lastly, Fanning is a delight. Clean, sweet, pretty, fragile, and then at one point develops into The Demon, she changes at the same pace the movie unfolds. This is a surreal flick (it is a Refn film), so expect flash montages, saturated vibrant colors, glitter, body landscapes, pools of blood, moonlight, pure white, the most perfect blacks, liquids, slow-mo, nipples, vulvae, absolute violence, beautiful decay, the gorgeous. The movie's soundtrack could have its own introduction, bass thumping, soft undertones, electronica, and just about anything you can think of on the catwalk present. This IS a cult title in the same vein as Scanner Darkly, Spring Breakers, Traffic, Blow, Boogie Nights, and any other film that tells you what the real price is for living in the fast lane.
You've been warned.