At the start of The Neon Demon, 16-year-old aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles and finds herself staying at a sleazy motel overseen by an equally sleazy, repulsive and ill- mannered manager (Keanu Reeves). A young man has taken a few photos of Jesse, which she presents to a prestigious modeling agency and before you know it she is the new hot thing. Importantly, she is a natural beauty, untarnished by plastic. The advice she receives from the agency’s director (Christina Hendricks) is to tell anyone who asks that she is 19.
Nicolas Winding Refn claimed the Best Director’s Award at Cannes in 2011 for his compelling picture Drive, but this is far more obscure piece. For years Refn had been interested in making a film about beauty because he has been surrounded by it. He’s directed both feature films and advertisements for luxury brands. Refn says “the currency of beauty continues to rise and never falls. As we evolve the lifespan of beauty becomes more limited while our obsession with it becomes more and more extreme. “This obsession can often lead to a unique kind of madness.” To illustrate this, Refn references Narcissus, the subject of ancient Greek mythology who became so enamoured with his own beauty that he drowned in its reflection.
With horror as The Neon Demon’s driving force, Refn appears to be out to shock and provoke a response to what we all know – the world is obsessed by beauty and clamours to get more and more of it. Likewise, just as the dream factory gives, it is also all too ready to throw away – cast aside without a second thought. The movie is populated by scenes where little is said and the camera lingers. It provokes feelings of discomfort. In fact, there is an unease about what we see from the get go, just the look, I dare say, that Refn wanted.
Not all of The Neon Demon makes sense. At times it feels like a collection of random thoughts surrounding the people who populate the world associated with beauty – all of it designed to build a depressing picture of subjugation and exploitation. Refn clearly cashes in on Jesse’s innocence.
Fanning is arguably the best thing about the movie as Jesse tries to navigate her way through the snake pit. Ruby, too, makes for an interesting foil. While her motives regarding Jesse are clear from the outset, her overall persona is more muddied.
The Neon Demon becomes more and more bizarre the longer it goes, so much so that Refn loses that all-important audience connection. The whole thing becomes a turn off rather than a turn on. In other words, what starts out with promise descends into a blancmange of madness. Rated R, The Neon Demon scores a 6 out of 10.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Elle Fanning, Jena Malone
Release Date: 20 October 2016
Rating: R18+
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television