Friday, June 24, 2016

The Neon Demon Movie Review

Elle Fanning stars in The Neon Demon

Hey Nineteen

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: When aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has. Co-stars Bella Heathcote, Christina Hendricks, Abbey LeeJena Malone and Keanu Reeves. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.


The first 90 minutes of The Neon Demon is actually very good. Refn has a knack for turning small stories into grandiose tales, and Jesse's adventure is compelling to watch. Fanning is convincing & delightful as an innocent "diamond in a sea of glass" who finds instant stardom, much to the chagrin of her fellow (older) models. Along the way, she crosses paths with lots of interesting people (Malone's terrific) but the ending is so bad, so off-the-wall, you have to question Refn's sanity... or at least his judgement. Beautiful to look at, but ends on the sourest of notes.

Grade: B-