The Neon Demon
It’s really awful, except for the beautiful bits.
The Neon Demon will divide people and the arguments will be quite ferocious. That’s the way director Nicolas Winding Refn likes it – he thrives on antagonism. Unfortunately, his greedy fervour for it makes him clumsy and obvious.
When you read a synopsis after seeing the film, you realise people struggle to identify the narrative. It’s vague, it falters, it becomes insignificant.
Elle Fanning plays Jesse, a 16-year-old small town girl who comes to LA to forge a career as a model and immediately attracts messianic attention. It seems the industry has never seen the likes of such a natural beauty before. This of course rankles the vain and desperately insecure models du jour.
This basic plot is stretched thin over fragmented events and truly abysmal dialogue.
Interspersed with banal, cliche-infested scenes are visual asides that are extremely sumptuous and trippy with consummate electronica soundtrack. The end result is a film that can’t decide what it wants to be and defaults to “lesbian vampire” style horror-schlock quasi porn.
But, like a grisly road accident, there will be so much commotion that you’ll feel compelled to have a look. (RB)
★★1/2
BY RITA BRATOVICH
