The Neon Demon (2016)

[Lizzy]

I can see why this film has had very divisive reviews it wasn't that deep but the mood, look and gorgeous score all worked for me. Fanning gave a interesting performance as the narcissistic Jessie but my MVP would be Malone who gave depth to a character that it would be very easy to make simply unrelatable. I really liked it, top 10 for me so far. 

 

[FTF]

On 7/6/2016 at 0:55 PM, JohnnyGossamer said:

So, I read the an early draft of the script which I assume was legit. Seems anyone feeling the witchcraft angle was spot on. The trio of killers, especially Malone, are wannabe witches.

 

Is that legit?  I've heard conflicting reports on if that whole witchcraft angle and them sacrificing virgins to stay young is really in an early draft.  Trying to find any interviews with NWR to confirm.

[dxmatrixdt]

I saw this opening night about 7:50pm.  I got in the theater right at 7:50 after finishing The Shallows.  I saw them in this order intentionally, hoping for maximum capacity for Neon Demon to make it fun.  I was also skeptical when I got there right on time (and not early), thinking I would get horrible seats.  The theater was empty.  By the time the movie started 20 minutes later, there was about 9 people in the theater.  I left 100% satisfied, but with a meh feeling for the film itself.  I lov the French art-house vibe it had.  It is rare to see this in a mainstream theater.  So much visual.  The limited dialogue and edits made the film confusing but I thought it was edited just right (like the Exorcist) so one could fill in the pieces.  The Neon Demon still makes you think a lot though.  You have to be alert to piece together each scene because the editing requires it.  The mood was great throughout.  Keanu Reeves was in it which was a plus.  I loved the scene in the parking lot when he was trying to light the cigarette with an empty lighter, shook the lighter, threw the lighter, and the lighter hit the ground and you could hear the sound of the plastic lighter sliding down the asphalt.  That seemed like an improvised scene.  Not sure... 

Edited May 15, 2018 by Thematrixfilm

[Gopher]

Yess, here we go baumer...

 

I HATED HATED HATED this movie. I think every pretty, well-lit frame reeks of Nicolas Winding Refn asserting how unique and palpable a voice in cinema he is when in reality the whole thing has a juvenile vision of the fashion industry and its trappings and a script where the film's thesis is stated in every line, so much that the film has nowhere else to go in the last third so they might as well make the subtext text and eat her, right?

 

Beyond technical elements (Refn can obviously compose a shot) there's not a SINGLE redeeming element of this film for me. This was not somebody not trying - this was an impressively terrible piece of cinema. 

[baumer]

Awesome!!!  We're back on the opposite sides again Goph!!

[JohnnyGossamer]

A friend recommended I stream Starry Eyes via Netflix because she'd mentioned Neon Demon reminded her of it. Well, I did. And, budgetary issues aside, it was pretty disappointing. I almost flat hated it. But, it did have a few moments.

[FTF]

@Gopher the soundtrack/score is pretty damn great, so is that even a second redeeming element for you?

[baumer]

17 minutes ago, FTF said:

@Gopher the soundtrack/score is pretty damn great, so is that even a second redeeming element for you?

 

Just remember, Gopher really doesn't like movies.

[Gopher]

8 hours ago, FTF said:

@Gopher the soundtrack/score is pretty damn great, so is that even a second redeeming element for you?

 

The soundtrack is killer. I just hate the film it's scoring

[4815162342]

It is nice to see some constants never change.

[The Futurist]

Yup, this was fucking stupid, basic and ugly beyond belief.

 

Refn won't fool anyone any longer I think.

 

His 15 seconds (minutes) are up IMO, thank God.

 

 

[Dementeleus]

What does it say about me that I was expecting this to be way more fucked up?  

 

This was fairly conventional for the first two-thirds -- well, conventional for Winding Refn, that is. I liked the dreamy atmosphere, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and the critique on the shallow, narcissistic tendencies of the beauty/fashion industry (and our society at large) is spot-on. But I never quite fell in love with it. 

 

Solid B, well worth watching. It's a good movie. 

[Jake Gittes]

I liked this but not nearly as much as I wanted to. Great image & sound as expected and Fanning, Malone and Reeves are good, but Heathcote and Lee's characters never earn their screentime, the structure gets all screwed up by the end leading to like 6 false endings (the final 30 minutes felt like an eternity, and pacing has never been a problem for me in Refn films before). A lot of the dialogue fell flat for me too, even as intentionally stilted and blunt. My least favorite Refn since Fear X. (I disliked Only God Forgives on first viewing, but grew to appreciate it later; somehow I don't see that happening here).

[somebody85]

The Neon Demon is the closest I've seen modern film come to approaching David Lynch levels of weirdness. It's impossible to shake the feeling that it is a giant love letter to Lynch. Every character reads their lines in the exact same way and the only likable person exits sort of early. Everyone else is just cold and disturbing (including our lead protagonist played by Elle Fanning).
 

I really enjoyed this film when it comes to the technical aspects. Like Mulholland Drive, the cinematography paints the city of fame with an unflinching nasty brush. The sky is always dull and most of the colors are ominous. But does the story and it's message really amount to anything?
 

The Neon Demon doesn't really explain everything (or anything). You never find out the reasons for why things are happening and that's okay. I knew pretty quickly that this was going to be the type of movie that could be interpreted however you wanted.
 

The story itself is like this mix of Mulholland Drive and Black Swan. But the film this reminded me the most of was Starry Eyes (which already borrowed heavily from those previous two), particularly for the first hour (there are a few scenes that are nearly identical). After that opening it becomes it's own thing though.
 

With that said, this movies visuals aren't easy to forget when the credits roll (much like Under The Skin). It's the type of horror that uses unsettling colors and framing instead of jump scares which I always appreciate. I loved the synthwave score (another idea borrowed from Starry Eyes) but I thought Elle Fanning was sort of miscast in this role. I didn't like her character at any point in the movie even though that might have been the point.
 

In the end I think The Neon Demon is totally worth watching for the technical stuff (it really does have awesome Lynch/Kubrick esque cinematography) but the story comes off like one of those disturbing model shoots that is supposed to be artistic but is really just violent. I can see the director saying it's "artsy" but there's little substance behind the nightmare. 

B-

(I dunno man, this movie is hard to grade because it feels like it wants you to search for the answers or keep watching it until you come up with them. It made me want to come on here or go on IMDB and see what others thought regarding the things that took place. Example: Were parts of the story a metaphor for how the industry eats young girls alive? I appreciated it for what it was and unlike a lot I've seen recently, I did not immediately forget it.)

Edited September 1, 2016 by somebody85

[somebody85]

On 7/14/2016 at 10:11 AM, JohnnyGossamer said:

A friend recommended I stream Starry Eyes via Netflix because she'd mentioned Neon Demon reminded her of it. Well, I did. And, budgetary issues aside, it was pretty disappointing. I almost flat hated it. But, it did have a few moments.

I agree with her. I also liked that way more then this. That had realistic characters and the actress who played Sarah was great and really likable. The problem with Starry Eyes is the midway point. I love the "Satanists control Hollywood" conspiracy theory and they didn't go all the way with it. They went a different direction which was unique (like all the transformation and reborn stuff is not part of the theory) but not as cool as it could have been. 

The auditions, her roommates, where they lived, her job, etc. were all very realistic though. I like the movie a lot but wish they handled the Satanism angle differently then they did. I liked how they did the blood sacrifices. That part features some of the most brutal imagery I've seen in awhile but had the movie stayed true to the theory it would have been way more ominous and not as on the nose. 

I still really like it though. One of the better indie horror films I've seen in awhile.

Edited September 1, 2016 by somebody85

[somebody85]

On 7/13/2016 at 11:34 PM, Gopher said:

Yess, here we go baumer...

 

I HATED HATED HATED this movie. I think every pretty, well-lit frame reeks of Nicolas Winding Refn asserting how unique and palpable a voice in cinema he is when in reality the whole thing has a juvenile vision of the fashion industry and its trappings and a script where the film's thesis is stated in every line, so much that the film has nowhere else to go in the last third so they might as well make the subtext text and eat her, right?

 

Beyond technical elements (Refn can obviously compose a shot) there's not a SINGLE redeeming element of this film for me. This was not somebody not trying - this was an impressively terrible piece of cinema. 

I'm not agreeing/disagreeing with your opinion regarding the movie but man I could show you some nasty real life examples of the fashion industry where shoots mirror the opening scene of this movie (if not worse).

There's no reason for these shoots to exist but they do. I guess they are supposedly used to sell expensive clothes but feature a lot of disturbing imagery (rape, torture, violence, etc.) A lot of shoots involve broken mirrors too (alluding to a broken conscience/or split alters). The movie didn't nail the fashion industry but it's not far off either.

[Blankments]

The Neon Demon is absolutely gorgeous. No one can deny that. Natasha Brier's cinematography constantly shines throughout it, creating a beautiful portrait of L.A. and the fashion industry. Unfortunately, that is the only beauty to find in this film as it consistently attempts to alienate the audience in the worst way imaginable. Sometimes, it's amusingly so, but more often than not, it's quite annoying. The themes seem rather service level and at points, try-hard because Refn tries to remove the sub from subtext in nearly every sequence. The score is appropriately eerie, and Jena Malone shines in the only memorable role in the entire film (not counting Keanu Reeves, who is memorable simply because he's Keanu Reeves). The Neon Demon is an interesting exercise in art, but almost entirely fails as a piece of good cinema, equating shock value with actual value far too much for its own good. D

[somebody85]

I watched this again a night later. Here's my thoughts regarding my second viewing:

Surprisingly it held up just as strong.

 

I wanted to see what other viewers got out of this movie so before rewatching it, I went and researched all the theories posted and I definitely noticed way more. It's still not a deep story but a lot of the usual exposition is cleverly told through the visuals.
 

Like the Sixth Sense, this movie utilizes the color red as symbolism extremely frequently. Early on there's a scene where Jesse is overlooking the LA skyline at night and NWR purposely tinted a lot of distant building lights a shade of red. In another scene he purposely uses an exit sign that's lit up in neon green when a photographer asks Jesse to do something uncomfortable. You have to pay attention to these cues because they are not always obvious (that exit sign is way in the background of that shot) but The Neon Demon is filled with them.
 

This is the type of movie where every shot was filmed that way for a reason. If you pay attention to the colors while watching this (for example - blue represents narcissism, purple represents the fashion industry, gold represents high levels of power, pink represents virginity, red represents danger/evil), the film gets it's messages across more clearly.
 

The cinematography really is outstanding. I could rewatch this a lot because it's such a gorgeous movie. On top of that the score that complements it is fucking excellent. I also found Elle Fanning more authentic with this viewing. I just wish they made her character more likable so the climax had greater emotional gravity.
 

But yeah, it's definitely not the type of film for everyone. Take away all of the visual storytelling and the messages don't go anywhere that similar films like "Black Swan" and "Starry Eyes" haven't already explored. And there's still plenty of odd writing once this hits the 3rd act. Certain events happen that don't add up in an actual narrative structure (even when dealing with the occult). These scenes can easily be interpreted as metaphors on the industry but that's it.
 

I dunno even with the incoherent climax, I still really like this movie. I also noticed that I didn't forget it immediately after watching it the first night (which I've done a ton this year) so I'm going up a tad higher now. It's just a shame that numerous story issues prevent The Neon Demon from shining like it could have. - B

Edited September 4, 2016 by somebody85

[The Futurist]

Love how everyone fakes on purpose to not see the whole gross lolita motif in this.

Edited September 6, 2016 by The Futurist

[baumer]

What do you mean Futurist? I think everyone sees that. It's the one part of the movie that bashes you over the head with a sledgehammer.