The Neon Demon

An audio-visual feast with fantastic acting performances (an excellent Desmond Harrington). The inner storyline is quite interesting, but overall the story lacks dynamism. As always, Winding Refn is in no hurry, but unfortunately the world of modeling offers no excuse for action, which occasionally helped Drive forward a little (also in places in Only God Forgives), the lesson is fairly simple, bizarre, but still clear, but it’s difficult to sum up the entire movie in a single intellectual exercise about the significance of individual scenes. The main problem, apart from the traditional remoteness, was the length. And so you must see the movie if only for the corpse licker and the visually refined composition of images. You’ll have to battle against viewer fatigue, because the Neon Demon has no soul. (24/09/2016)

After I watched this movie, I’ve got the feeling that Nicolas Winding Refn is drowning in his own filmmaking utopias. I get that the Neon Demon has a clear premise about modelling, but I don’t get the artistic pathos they’re using to get to the point. Sure, many of the scenes are very interesting and very pleasing to the eye, but as a whole, I feel like the movie’s just a concurrence of different scenes that don’t make much sense. The director’s lucky that he can choose the right music to his video. I fell for it with Drive, but it was a bit harder this time. (22/11/2016)

Spoiled pretentiousness with two hours of running time and two twists. Cheaply provocative, grandly announcing something that will never come, and most importantly – completely unnecessary. The attempt to approach the incomprehensible spectacles of David Lynch is too shallow and self-absorbed. I understand that all the colors, wordless minutes, and repulsive scenes have metaphors that Nicolas Winding Refn enjoys talking about, but at their core, they are all so disgustingly trivial that they cannot even touch a clever or sophisticated effect. I was looking forward to more Danish-Hollywood hypnotism because I love Drive, and just narrowly missed Only God Forgives. But the main character's vacant stares don't work here because they have no narrative foundation to draw from, and the supporting monsters in this case are more like screenplay flaws. Nicolas just lost even the most patient of us. (25/09/2016)

I thought this was going to be a cinematic experience, but it's really just boring as hell. I almost had the feeling that the finale was just a beginner's attempt to shock as much as possible. And perhaps it worked a little because that suffocation can really affect a person. Very well acted. But otherwise, just disappointment from a boringly predictable, albeit intense, story that tries to be different in form. (11/10/2016)

Nicolas Refn is the perfect director for shooting spectacular spectacles because he can cleverly bombard the viewer with attractive sensations. His talent would be greatly utilized in shooting advertisements and music videos, as well as certain genres of films. He could easily handle refined eroticism without a blink of an eye - if, however, he didn't want to convince the viewer, and most likely himself as well, that he is destined for the world of great art. He therefore chooses inadequate film resources for his goals, discovering banal, universally accessible truths and attempting to camouflage depth where it tramples in the quagmire. It's a shame because with his reputation he should have no problem persuading leading character actresses to undress in the interest of the Muses. However, in this affected, elongated pose, Refn becomes annoying. I will give him 30% for the participating ladies, and he should be glad that I am feeling sympathetic and that I'm squinting my eyes at this desperation until it hurts. (04/03/2021)