Review #1,354: 'The Neon Demon' (2016)

The arrival of a new movie by Danish director and enfant terrible Nicolas Winding Refn is always a cause for excitement. Not because the filmmaker's name is any kind of guaranteed stamp of quality, but because of our natural curiosity to see just how far he is willing to push his audience. His 2011 smash and Hollywood breakthrough Drive was a surprise treat: a neon-lit journey into the underbelly of L.A. that featured a career-defining performance by Ryan Gosling. His follow-up Only God Forgives was a massive disappointment and received a near-universal panning, but there was enough style there to maintain the belief that Refn was still capable of delivering something special. Sadly his next film, The Neon Demon, is similarly hollow, kicking up such a stink at Cannes that it inspired mass booing, although just as many were cheering it.

Where the L.A. of Drive was dangerous and seductive, the City of Angels depicted in The Neon Demon is one cut straight from a glossy fashion magazine. Models are dolled up to look like corpses, staring dead-eyed into the lens as the shady photographer watches ominously. The city's latest arrival is porcelain-skinned beauty Jesse (Elle Fanning), who natural golden curls and cute nose draw jealousy from her cosmetically-enhanced rivals. She has just celebrated her 16th birthday, but a modelling agency talent spotter (played by Christina Hendricks) advises her to claim she's 19, should anybody ask. She soon catches the eye of some of the best photographers in the business, all of whom seems instantly enchanted by her looks and youth. As make-up artist Ruby (Jena Malone) puts it, Jesse just has that 'thing'. That thing is innocence, but such a quality cannot last in a cut-throat industry where models eat each other alive.

There's always been a grimy quality to Refn's movies, even in his most polished output. The Neon Demon is his closest brush with horror, and the director initially seems like the perfect fit for the genre. Yet this button-pushing slog will likely inspired yawns and frustration rather than gasps and shudders. It seems like Refn has a list of taboos he's eager to tick off his body of work, and The Neon Demon is happy to indulge in everything from necrophilia to cannibalism. It's a premise built on the flimsiest of metaphors, and the resulting message ultimately seems to be that some men are sleazy, women can be bitches, and the fashion world is vacuous and materialistic. Sub-plots are introduced, such as an incredibly dull love interest (Karl Glusman) and an unscrupulous motel owner (Keanu Reeves), but they lead nowhere and serve no real purpose to the story. It's provocative for the sake of being provocative, which wouldn't be a huge problem if the film wasn't so utterly ponderous. Like his fellow countryman Lars von Trier, Refn is eager to shock, but there can be little to no impact when there is a complete lack of substance.


Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Elle Fanning, Karl Glusman, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee, Keanu Reeves, Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks
Country: Denmark/France/USA/UK

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #296: 'Drive' (2011)

Sarah Deming, a resident of Michigan, took legal action against the producers of Drive, as she was expecting a Fast and the Furious (2001)-type action movie. Bizarrely she is also claiming that the film is anti-Semitic, but on the former, she has a bit of a point, as the trailer does focus mainly on the driving element of the film, which there is very little in comparison to the aforementioned piece-of-shit franchise, making the trailer a little misleading. This ludicrous story aside, the film does use many of the iconographic elements that make a good driving/action film: Ryan Gosling's character, simple named Driver, wears the sports jacket made famous by the likes of Steve McQueen, Ryan O'Neal and Paul Newman, made iconic in 1960's and '70's cinema.

Driver is a stunt man for the film industry, and makes extra cash as a transporter of people in heists. He meets his neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son. Eventually her partner is released from prison, and is conned into doing a robbery, to pay back money for services whilst in prison. Driver, having a strong connection with Irene, wants to help him out. As this is a set up, things go terribly wrong. Albert Brooks gives a superb performance as gangster Bernie Rose, along with smaller - but no less brilliant - performances from Ron Perlman and Bryan Cranston (who was the main reason that I ever watched Malcolm in the Middle).

Nicholas Winding Refn's first American film, sees him riff on many classic films - of particularly the 1980's. The lush look of LA is captured in all it's neon-lit beauty and reminded me very much of the iconic Michael Mann aesthetic. Also there are some protracted, and audio-specific moments of violence that offered that same kind of eeww-factor that you get in a David Lynch moment of violence. Gosling has to beat a guy in a lift, and the sounds are very reminiscent of the opening scene in Wild at Heart (1990), where Sailor crushes someones head against a stairwell banister.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of stylish cinema - and fortunately it is not a case of style over substance, that is so prevalent today. This film has strong emotion, even with Gosling's incredibly laconic performance. I had a conversation with a friend about this film. As I was saying how "cool" it was, my friend turned to me and said he had started watching the film, but switched off half way through as he found it boring. This brings me back to the first paragraph of this review. He also believed the film to be of action orientation. So, is everything about this film misleading? Well, no.


Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy