Nicolas Winding Refn is one unique filmmaker. After the critical and cult success of Drive (2011), one might have expected the director to start making traditional Hollywood features. Instead, he has continued to make small, niche films that have only gotten more eccentric. Such is the case with his latest, The Neon Demon. It’s beyond strange and feels like some sort of surreal hybrid mix of David Lynch and Dario Argento.
The story follows Jesse (Elle Fanning), a 16 year old ingénue who arrives in Los Angeles determined to become a fashion model. It becomes clear to all who encounter Jesse that she has extraordinary beauty and compelling star quality. In no time at all, she befriends a make-up artist named Ruby (Jenna Malone) that can’t help but obsess over her. The youngster also draws the envy of fellow models. In particular, Sarah (Abby Lee), who is now struggling to find work in her field because of her age (she’s considered ancient at 20-something).
Strikingly photographed by Natasha Braier (The Rover), the visuals feature incredibly vivid neon fashion shoots that pop off of the screen with vibrant color. These scenes are contrasted with darker, duller and more ominous lighting that appears every time Jesse steps away from the sheen and gloss of the modeling world. It is consistently incredible and strangely hypnotic to look at.
The theme of the film is pretty clear and is often stated outright by the leads. In the modeling world, beauty is the only valuable or worthwhile commodity. All of these desperate people would literally do anything to stay young and tear off a piece of fame and fortune. These are incredibly cold and selfish characters. As Jesse becomes more and more successful, resentment and desperation rises. Even the heroine herself succumbs to self-centeredness and admits she knows that her beauty is “dangerous”, which leaves viewers to consider how aware she is of the havoc she has caused.
We get the central idea pretty quickly and the slow and deliberate pacing doesn’t do the movie any favors. It begins to feel very repetitive at times as we witness Jesse’s meteoric rise. Additionally, the story lacks affable or even relatable characters. Still, it possesses an entertainingly grim sense of humor. This makes up for the nastiness on display in some respects. In fact, the model’s icy stares and cruel backhanded compliments are quite amusing, at least early on. There are also a couple of funny comments from the impressive supporting cast that includes Cristina Hendricks and Keanu Reeves.
By the final third, the movie segues into more unsettling sequences and imagery that make their way into the final third. Some of it appears at odds with the humor that precedes it. One particular scene involving an intruder and a knife is wince-inducing and difficult to watch. And the end of the second act to the finale itself… is beyond strange. By this, I mean that unexpected and unfathomably weird events occur. I knew nothing about the movie going in, and I can honestly say that I was clueless as to where the story was going during its final twenty minutes.
This is a staggeringly odd movie and will infuriate many. Personally, I didn’t even know what to make of it while walking out of the theater. After some reflection, the following conclusion came to me. While The Neon Demon lacks a strong narrative and isn’t nearly as compelling as Drive, it does have a few positives going for it. It’s a gorgeously filmed and completely unpredictable exercise that every so often derides the fashion industry with effectiveness. I can’t help but give Refn and his crew some degree of props for spinning out this original, bizarre and disturbing fable.