I went to a screening of 'The Neon Demon' in my town this afternoon. I should start by saying that it was a particularly fun screening since I was alone in the room and it kind of helped with the atmosphere of the movie.
'The Neon Demon' is the new feature film by NWR (as it was stylized in the opening title). I was a big fan of 'Drive' and I also enjoyed 'Only God Forgives' even though most people didn't like. I knew going in that the movie didn't receive the praise of 'Drive' so I was expecting something like 'Only God Forgives' and it's pretty much what I got.
Elle Fanning plays a young (underage) model trying to make it big in the city of angels. The opening scene will dive you right into this world with great cinematography and a very cool song. I actually thought that the visuals, the acting and the soundtrack were by far the best aspects of this movie.
This is a pretty dark movie, but I actually found myself laughing a couple of times. Keanu Reeves' supporting character has a couple of good lines and the movie itself also has an interesting commentary about the world of fashion... even though it's delivered in a radically surreal way.
Saying that the visuals are great is an understatement: the art design is impressive, the lighting is perfect in multiples scenes and the colour palette is really "in your face". There are two 'mind- trip' scenes in the movie that are worth the price of admission alone.
I had a couple of issues with the character development of our main character (Fanning) in the script. I hate when art films immediately gets stamped 'style over substance', and I don't think it was the case here neither. However, I don't think NWR did a good job at portraying her evolution through the movie. Without getting into spoilers, Jesse (Fanning) is initially portrayed as being timid and insecure. At some point in the film her character experiences a sudden shift in personality that I didn't exactly bought.
Even though you might think the movie is a bit long at times, stick to it until the end, the final act is pretty crazy and rewarding. Jena Malone's performance was amazing to say the least, she went totally wild in this film.
All things together I liked 'The Neon Demon' even though I had a couple of issues here and there. It's a cool "horror" movie with a very twisted and subtle sense of humour. Maybe not the perfect date movie, but it's definitely worth a watch!
7.5/10
'The Neon Demon' is the new feature film by NWR (as it was stylized in the opening title). I was a big fan of 'Drive' and I also enjoyed 'Only God Forgives' even though most people didn't like. I knew going in that the movie didn't receive the praise of 'Drive' so I was expecting something like 'Only God Forgives' and it's pretty much what I got.
Elle Fanning plays a young (underage) model trying to make it big in the city of angels. The opening scene will dive you right into this world with great cinematography and a very cool song. I actually thought that the visuals, the acting and the soundtrack were by far the best aspects of this movie.
This is a pretty dark movie, but I actually found myself laughing a couple of times. Keanu Reeves' supporting character has a couple of good lines and the movie itself also has an interesting commentary about the world of fashion... even though it's delivered in a radically surreal way.
Saying that the visuals are great is an understatement: the art design is impressive, the lighting is perfect in multiples scenes and the colour palette is really "in your face". There are two 'mind- trip' scenes in the movie that are worth the price of admission alone.
I had a couple of issues with the character development of our main character (Fanning) in the script. I hate when art films immediately gets stamped 'style over substance', and I don't think it was the case here neither. However, I don't think NWR did a good job at portraying her evolution through the movie. Without getting into spoilers, Jesse (Fanning) is initially portrayed as being timid and insecure. At some point in the film her character experiences a sudden shift in personality that I didn't exactly bought.
Even though you might think the movie is a bit long at times, stick to it until the end, the final act is pretty crazy and rewarding. Jena Malone's performance was amazing to say the least, she went totally wild in this film.
All things together I liked 'The Neon Demon' even though I had a couple of issues here and there. It's a cool "horror" movie with a very twisted and subtle sense of humour. Maybe not the perfect date movie, but it's definitely worth a watch!
7.5/10