The Neon Demon

Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles just after her 16th birthday to launch a career as a model, with the head of her agency telling her that she has the qualities to become a top star. She soon faces the wrath of ruthless vixens who despise her fresh-faced beauty, a seedy hotel manager and a creepy photographer, but she manages to take the fashion world by storm and, as she does, she finds that her personality changes in ways that could help her against her dangerous rivals. The always-divisive Nicholas Winding Refn returns with a psychological horror film that has hit the headlines for shocking the audience at Cannes – make no mistake, this film likes to play with the macabre and the offensive, and it is not going to be for everybody. However, it is an incredibly cerebral picture, and even its angriest of critics agree that it is absolutely stunning to watch – the cinematography is incredible, with the use of colours crating the tone so effectively that they could tell the story alone. The Neon Demon is incredibly weird and strange (although, to my mind, those are selling points), and it relies quite heavily on visual storytelling in place of a more typical narrative, but it is daringly different – if you want to try something different, you couldn’t find something more apt than this.

Reece Goodall