Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles just after her 16th birthday to launch a career as a model. The head of her agency tells the innocent teen that she has the qualities to become a top star. Jesse soon faces the wrath of ruthless vixens who despise her fresh-faced beauty. On top of that, she must contend with a seedy motel manager and a creepy photographer. As Jesse starts to take the fashion world by storm, her personality changes in ways that could help her against her cutthroat rivals.
Wow.
The Neon Demon is visually gorgeous. An absolute spectacle. I'm struggling to come up with the words to properly describe the voluptuous, simmering experience that is The Neon Demon. The dark expanses make the rich, vivid colours pop in such a visceral and sensual way, that it is like an orgasm for the eyes. The light, the colour, the framing, the camera angles, the musical score; everything syncs together with an innate sense of majestic beauty. Fantastical and stunning.
That is what you can expect from The Neon Demon; style over substance. Thematically, it works very well considering the film revolves around the fashion model industry. This is a film that focuses very much on the commodification of youth and beauty, and as a consequence, the inevitable corruption of those assets.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn has done a brilliant job at creating a real environment. Feeding stories to the audience, not only through dialogue but through the audio-visual experience. Movements and the emotional depth of the eye--together with an ominously pulsating musical score and a variety of lighting elements--create an authentic emotional arc that conveys so much more than dialogue alone can create.
This does mean that to fully understand the film, you need to open your mind up to it. To fully immerse yourself in its splendour to reach the full potential of its story. While the story is rather straight-forward if you are expecting every detail to be spoonfed to you, you will be sorely disappointed (and likely confused).
The Neon Demon spends much of its time setting the scene, that compared to a traditional Hollywood film, the narrative will feel dull and listless. That is to be expected if you only take in one dimension of the story. Yet through this method, you understand so much about the motivations and ambitions of each character without a multitude of scenes. The build-up is thorough, and the action is short and concise.
If you make it to the third act, it does accelerate ever so quickly, until the climax of the film is reached and it finally starts hitting the points that are expected of a thriller. The Neon Demon is unconventional by most standards. It reminds me more of the visuals to be expected at a big concert arena than a movie, and yet it feels decidedly intimate and targeted. A dazzling and luxurious look at obsession and narcissism.