Neon Demon Review
The Neon Demon is a 2016 drama/horror written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and co-written by Mary Laws/Polly Stenham. Though receiving neither critical acclaim nor box-office rewards, the film has become a much talked about oddity among film lovers and is considered by some to be a masterpiece.
Story
Aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to LA and begins to quickly rise in the world of California modeling. Though she excels at her new profession, her success attracts jealousy from other models, who believe they should be climbing higher than she is.
I'm not sure how much I should give away in this part of the analysis. On the one hand, there is some genuinely shocking stuff in here, especially some genuinely disturbing stuff in the third act, that would lose all its gravity if I told you what was going on. On the other hand, I'm not really sure I can whole heartedly recommend this to anybody precisely because of those shocking story moments. And when I say shocking, I don't mean in the South Park or Family Guy kind of way where you're thinking "Wow, I can't believe they got away with something that risqué". It's more along the lines of The Red Wedding where you're left going "Wow, that was genuinely disturbing and I really didn't need to see it." I guess I'll just leave it at that for now.
The screenplay's all around good. It has a lot of visual storytelling, but when there is dialogue it seems completely natural for these characters and the harsh environment in which they live.
That's another thing about the movie: the entire thing from start to finish is harsh. It really makes you feel like you're in a hostile environment where "dog eat dog" is the motto of the whole organization.
This helps you sympathize with Jesse as she goes through the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the modeling industry. We see her evolve from a big-eyed innocent to a hardened narcissist wise to the ways of the cruel industry in which she dwells.
That industry is right at the center of the film's narrative; the entire story is basically a commentary on the world of modeling. It touches on topics like underage modeling, plastic surgery and anorexia, but the theme it always comes back to is how the entire industry is a cycle of dog eat dog, where each model needs to nock the others down in order to move up to bigger and better gigs.
Technical
The technical side of production is where the movie really shines.
As you'd expect from a title like Neon Demon, much of the lighting is entirely neon and it's absolutely gorgeous. This is the best looking movie in terms of color that I've seen in a long time. However, the good part is that it's not just there for the purpose of looking nice; it actually serves to help tell the story. In the beginning the neon colors are only used in scenes that have to do with the modeling industry, like studios and fashion shows, and natural sunlight is used everywhere else. This is used to symbolize that Jesse is still just dipping her feet into the industry. However, after one really trippy scene completely lit in harsh red almost every single scene is lit in neon from that point on, showing us that she has completely given herself over to this shallow, narcissistic world. Even when they're in sunlight it seems neon, with oversaturated color correction and lens flares.
The costume design also helps tell the story. At the beginning, Jesse dresses in modest, nice clothes, reflecting the poor, humble background she starts from. Then, as she gets drawn in she begins to wear more flashy dresses and is constantly wearing glamorous makeup.
The acting is pretty good, with Elle Fanning being the stand out, perfectly portraying Jesse's naive innocence at the beginning and her unfortunate transformation by the end. The rest of the cast to a great job as well including, surprisingly, Keanu Reeves, whose mere presence in the film is kind of weird. He's basically just an extended cameo as the manager of the motel Jesse stays at and while he does fine (which in itself is kind of surprising) it seems kind of pointless to put Reeves in this particular role. It just feels like it could've gone to literally anybody.
Summary: I'm really torn about Neon Demon. On one hand, it's looks great and I appreciate the commentary it's trying to convey. I mean, I'll certainly never look at modeling the same way again. However, the fact that it's so unbelievably f*cked up as I said before makes it hard to recommend. I suppose it really depends on your tolerance levels. If you enjoy dark, no-holds-bared grindhouse kind of stuff and wish you could see it on a bigger budget, then go ahead. However, if you're rendered at all squeamish by the sight of blood definitely stay away. As for myself, I don't think I can ever watch this one again. Also, don't eat before you watch this one.
Aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to LA and begins to quickly rise in the world of California modeling. Though she excels at her new profession, her success attracts jealousy from other models, who believe they should be climbing higher than she is.
I'm not sure how much I should give away in this part of the analysis. On the one hand, there is some genuinely shocking stuff in here, especially some genuinely disturbing stuff in the third act, that would lose all its gravity if I told you what was going on. On the other hand, I'm not really sure I can whole heartedly recommend this to anybody precisely because of those shocking story moments. And when I say shocking, I don't mean in the South Park or Family Guy kind of way where you're thinking "Wow, I can't believe they got away with something that risqué". It's more along the lines of The Red Wedding where you're left going "Wow, that was genuinely disturbing and I really didn't need to see it." I guess I'll just leave it at that for now.
The screenplay's all around good. It has a lot of visual storytelling, but when there is dialogue it seems completely natural for these characters and the harsh environment in which they live.
That's another thing about the movie: the entire thing from start to finish is harsh. It really makes you feel like you're in a hostile environment where "dog eat dog" is the motto of the whole organization.
This helps you sympathize with Jesse as she goes through the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the modeling industry. We see her evolve from a big-eyed innocent to a hardened narcissist wise to the ways of the cruel industry in which she dwells.
That industry is right at the center of the film's narrative; the entire story is basically a commentary on the world of modeling. It touches on topics like underage modeling, plastic surgery and anorexia, but the theme it always comes back to is how the entire industry is a cycle of dog eat dog, where each model needs to nock the others down in order to move up to bigger and better gigs.
Technical
The technical side of production is where the movie really shines.
As you'd expect from a title like Neon Demon, much of the lighting is entirely neon and it's absolutely gorgeous. This is the best looking movie in terms of color that I've seen in a long time. However, the good part is that it's not just there for the purpose of looking nice; it actually serves to help tell the story. In the beginning the neon colors are only used in scenes that have to do with the modeling industry, like studios and fashion shows, and natural sunlight is used everywhere else. This is used to symbolize that Jesse is still just dipping her feet into the industry. However, after one really trippy scene completely lit in harsh red almost every single scene is lit in neon from that point on, showing us that she has completely given herself over to this shallow, narcissistic world. Even when they're in sunlight it seems neon, with oversaturated color correction and lens flares.
The costume design also helps tell the story. At the beginning, Jesse dresses in modest, nice clothes, reflecting the poor, humble background she starts from. Then, as she gets drawn in she begins to wear more flashy dresses and is constantly wearing glamorous makeup.
The acting is pretty good, with Elle Fanning being the stand out, perfectly portraying Jesse's naive innocence at the beginning and her unfortunate transformation by the end. The rest of the cast to a great job as well including, surprisingly, Keanu Reeves, whose mere presence in the film is kind of weird. He's basically just an extended cameo as the manager of the motel Jesse stays at and while he does fine (which in itself is kind of surprising) it seems kind of pointless to put Reeves in this particular role. It just feels like it could've gone to literally anybody.
Summary: I'm really torn about Neon Demon. On one hand, it's looks great and I appreciate the commentary it's trying to convey. I mean, I'll certainly never look at modeling the same way again. However, the fact that it's so unbelievably f*cked up as I said before makes it hard to recommend. I suppose it really depends on your tolerance levels. If you enjoy dark, no-holds-bared grindhouse kind of stuff and wish you could see it on a bigger budget, then go ahead. However, if you're rendered at all squeamish by the sight of blood definitely stay away. As for myself, I don't think I can ever watch this one again. Also, don't eat before you watch this one.
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