‘Drive’ (2011) was such a success, both commercially and critically that it was a real breakthrough for Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. His follow-up, ‘Only God Forgives'(2013) was derided by many (though not me) as being overly stylised and deliberately obtuse. Heaven knows what those people think of his next film, ‘The Neon Demon’, Refn takes his stylistic flourishes to a whole new level, and this is a film that is certain to divide audiences once again.
Elle Fanning stars as Jesse, a seemingly innocent 16 year-old girl who has moved to Los Angeles to become a model. She is befriended by make up artist Ruby (Jena Malone) who introduces her to two other models, Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee). I can’t really give away too much more of the plot. Billed as either a horror or a thriller, it has elements of both but can’t easily be pigeonholed into a genre. As it spirals into a tale of murder, suicide, necrophilia, and cannibalism it is really like nothing I’ve ever seen. Having said that, and whilst acknowledging that Refn is a unique talent, it does owe a debt to early the early 80s sleaziness of Brian De Palma and the body horror of David Cronenberg.
Fanning does well in a difficult role, though she is outshone by Malone and by Keanu Reeves – in one of his best ever performances – as creepy motel manager. But, as good as they are, it is the visual style of Refn and the brilliant score by Cliff Martinez that will live in the memory. There are two sequences early on in the film – Jesse’s first photo shoot, and when she attends a show at a club with Ruby, that are visually stunning but would not have made the same impact if they didn’t have Martinez’s synth music accompanying them. Although, it has to be said a suicide scene near the end, is as funny as it is horrific, makes an impact without any assistance from the composer!
Despite its largely leisurely pace, I was always intrigued, and am still puzzling over elements of the story the next day. Not for everyone, as suspected, but it worked for me.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10