I'm coming to this movie a little later than most, as when The Neon Demon came out in cinemas earlier this year it somehow managed to miss my town completely (and really, what's the point of having two cinemas within three miles of where you live if neither of them are going to show certain films?) But now that it's out on DVD I can finally - and legally - get hold of a copy myself and see what all the fuss was about.
Jesse is 16 years old and newly arrived in California from Georgia to be a model. She's young, fresh and very beautiful; all qualities which of course enable her to get the attention of all sorts of people - from the sleazy owner of the motel where she stays to the photographers and designers who see her as a new, beautiful face that they can work with. Of course, there's also the other models and women that work in the industry who take notice of her - in particular models Gigi and Sarah and makeup artist Ruby, who each have their own reasons for becoming obsessed with Jesse once their paths cross. The modelling business is of course a very competitive one, and some people will do anything to stay on top of it - will Jesse be one of those people?
The Neon Demon is a very beautiful film. Very, very beautiful.. Its use of colour and lighting in several of its scenes reminded me a lot of the way colour was used in Suspiria almost the moment I saw them, and there's also a certain similarity in some of the themes in both movies as well (young beautiful girl comes to new place to be a model/dancer, finds a darkness underneath). There's probably a comparison to be made with Black Swan as well. The colours are bright and bold in some scenes - there are neons (obviously) and primary colours, and vast expanses of black and white, usually with Jesse at the centre, in other scenes - and they all leave a lasting impression on the eye. What makes things even more interesting is that director Nicolas Winding Refn is colourblind and cannot see mid-tones, which is why he uses such contrasting colours in his film.
There's also a strong theme of predators and prey running through The Neon Demon. Some of the examples are obvious, like Hank the creepy motel owner (played by none other than Keanu Reeves), but there are more subtle moments as well, such as the mountain lion that gets into Jesse's room one night (big cats are a recurring motif in the film). I'm not sure how obvious Ruby the predatory lesbian was supposed to be - that's not really a spoiler, I think, as it really seemed pretty obvious to me from the moment she first speaks in the movie - but she's there too and has a big role to play. But Jesse is interesting because she seems to be able to fulfill both roles during the course of the film. For the most part she's portrayed as wide-eyed and naive; new to the big city and the modelling life, and therefore easily marked out as easy meat for those who would prey on her. When a photographer calls for a closed set, just her and him, and then makes her strip naked for him, you fear for what might happen; stories of casting couches and young ingenues being taken advantage of because they think it will help make them stars. There are other moments, however, when a different side of Jesse seems to emerge. When she's under the gaze of the cameras and the lights, for example, a colder, harder-edged version of her seems to emerge. And early on in the film, with an almost off-hand comment Jesse tells us that her parents are dead, and something about her made me wonder, if it had been Jesse herself who had killed them. There are times in the film when her character just strikes me as the type of person who would do anything to get what she wants.
People who have already seen the film might notice that there's at least one category missing from the list at the bottom of the review. I've chosen to not categorise this review completely because of spoilers - the missing category/ies would reveal a pretty big one and I don't want to ruin things for people who have still to see the film. What I will say is that The Neon Demon is also about obsession, and the things it can drive a person to do when they're caught up in it. The climactic event of the film actually happens about 20 minutes before the end, allowing us to not only experience the climax, but the aftereffects of it as well. This gives an interesting coda to the film, and explores things a little deeper than I might have otherwise expected.
On the surface, The Neon Demon doesn't seem like a traditional horror film. It is, however, very dark and in places unflinching, and very much a thoughtful psychological horror film with a climax that acts as a punch in the stomach to its audience. It's definitely worth seeing.
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