Film of the Month

The Neon Demon

29/06/16

Normally, writing the movie page involves separating the good from the bad, whilst stopping to point and laugh at the ugly. If I think that there’s a hidden indie gem about to drop on the screen, I’ll shout about it. If I like the look of a big budget action adventure, I’ll back that fucking pony. Basically, personal taste aside, I try to pick a winner that most people will like.

Well, not this month, because the only guarantee you'll get from me regarding The Neon Demon from controversial director Nicolas Winding Refn, is that I guarantee that half of you will hate this movie.

It stars 16 year old Elle Fanning as an aspiring model who moves to LA and becomes a target for a group of beauty obsessed women who, let's just say, don't have her best interests at heart. The film also stars Keanu Reeves and Christina Hendricks, and is as dark, subversive and controversial as his previous work, Only God Forgives. Think of this as an ultraviolent Valley of the Dolls for the digitally airbrushed generation.

As I’ve said, half of you will think that this film is rubbish (even the Cannes beret crowd booed it). You will find it tasteless, pointlessly violent and intentionally offensive. You will not relate to the characters, whom you will find confusing, or enjoy the story, which you will find unsatisfactory. Why? Because it’s supposed to. Because NWR knows that some people will have to hate this movie for the rest of us to love it.

And some of us will adore it. We will find it artistic in its cinematography, nuanced in its portrayal of characters, unpredictable and excitingly non-conventional. To me, films like this are like tattoos. The question is not will it hurt – of course it will. The real question is why would you want it not to?

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