The Neon Demon. A movie that many knew about, but not many acknowledged.

As I begin typing out my first article for the Odyssey, I realize that there is so much ground to cover when it comes to topics such as film, politics, literature, history, etc and that the options are limitless in this new domain. It's a place where I can offer up an analysis on a movie that I may have already reviewed, which is what I am talking about today.

After watching the film some days ago, I seem to have gotten borderline obsessed with it. Everywhere I go, whatever I do, the movie stays with me. Cliff Martinez's beautiful soundtrack plays on my iPod, shots of the movie keep invading my thoughts on other things and newer interpretations of certain scenes in the movie keep popping into my head.

In order to talk about this movie, there are aspects that may be spoiled, so SPOILER WARNING! If you haven't seen the movie, I strongly urge you to do so. It is a movie that will make you think. If you haven't, I do hope this article convinces you to do so. Without further ado, the movie is about a young girl named Jesse, played by Elle Fanning, who is a young girl aspiring to be a model in LA. Fashion directors and photographers take notice of her and she is considered "perfect," an adjective that does not often sit well with some of the models and a makeup artist named Ruby, played by Jena Malone, and their jealousy and hate for Jesse and their desire to reach the top result in some.....things happening, which we are going to discuss here.

Take note of three words in the last paragraph: jealousy, hate and desire. These are the themes of the movie. The main objective of the movie is to show you how far individuals are willing to go in order to make it to the top and outrun everyone else. This is a concept that has been seen in film before, but Refn finds a way to do it in a different context: fashion. While this has been done before, Refn shows you a side that is darker than the conventional "you hit me, I hit you" scenario by making it "I hit you, and you stay down," a statement I will get back to in a bit. The other three characters in the movie represent these exact words. Gigi, played by Bella Heathcote, represents jealousy. She can't believe Jesse is becoming a part of bigger shows so early on in her career and that the spotlight is being taken away from her. Sarah, played by Abbey Lee, represents the extreme version of that: hate. Her character is built on the fact that the spotlight will be taken away and that certain limits will have to be crossed in order to stop Jesse, regardless of how sick they could be. And then there's Ruby, the amazed makeup artist who believes Jesse has that "thing" that makes her better than others in the fashion industry and Ruby is infatuated with Jesse more than Jesse would like to believe. There is also a motel owner named Hank, played by Keanu Reeves, who talks about a thirteen-year-old girl living in a room next to Jesse's, and that that girl is "Real Lolita s**t. Gotta be seen," and his character also has sexual undertones that go on throughout the entire film, which have a bit of a payoff halfway through the film as well.

However, halfway into the movie, Refn makes another theme prominent: narcissism. With 56 minutes to go, the movie highlights this aspect of the human mind in a beautifully composed sequence, in which Jesse is standing next to mirrors and she is kissing her own reflection, all while the lighting of the scene changes from blue to red, signifying her transformation from an innocent young girl to a self-obsessed model. This theme has undertones throughout the entire movie before this scene. It also shows us how we're afraid to become powerless if faced with a threat to our superiority, which is exactly what happens in the end, but we'll get to that in a bit. The movie also makes a point to this by bringing up a line that "beauty isn't everything. It's the only thing" and as the movie nears the third act, this statement begins taking a toll on Jesse's life. This is the statement that the fashion industry tends to live by. The designer says some lines of dialogue that resonate more than others as well, such "If you aren't born beautiful, you never will be" and pointing to Jesse says "True beauty is the highest currency we have. Without it, she would be nothing." This is where the movie sets up the upcoming conflict and highlights the fears of these characters. Jesse feels threatened because she considers herself to be perfect and that "I don't wanna be them. They wanna be me," and that line is true for Gigi, Sarah and Ruby. Refn's portrayal of this is darker than others, because he actually goes the extra mile here by showing exactly what goes wrong in Jesse's life and how the narcissistic approach of these characters take a toll on them, as you will see soon in the article.

And the beauty of all this is that a lot of this is told through visual storytelling. Refn has always been one to tell stories from the point of view of visuals. The light coincidentally placed over Ryan Gosling's head like a halo in Drive and the actions of "God" in Only God Forgives are not coincidences, they are elements that Refn is using to tell the story. The movie may have a simple plot, but what makes it memorable and everlasting for many is the visual style he uses to convey it, which has deeper meanings. Unlike Drive and Only God Forgives, Refn highlights that more prominently in this movie. However, there is still a lot left to the audience's interpretations. Many interpret the third act of The Neon Demon as a dream, which is understandable, because Refn made it look like that, but when you start to peel back the layers, you see the beauty behind the madness, which is where this movie succeeds, but more on that in a bit.

And now let's talk about the ending of the movie, which is where almost everyone may leave the cinema/room scratching their heads in confusion (WARNING: THE DESCRIPTION IS GRAPHIC) Jesse is confronted by Gigi, Sarah and Ruby. the latter of them infuriated that Jesse denied her sexual advances and wants revenge for it. When cornered, Ruby pushes Jesse into an empty pool, where she lands crushingly and is fatally injured. The next shot is of Ruby in a bathtub covered in blood, while Gigi and Sarah wash the blood off themselves. It's no secret at this point that Refn has those four aforementioned words make their impact now, and he does that in a sick, depraved manner that mirrors the mentality these characters have had since the beginning of the movie. Yes, they have eaten Jesse. However, the movie does not end there. Refn has shown us that each of these characters represents something. No one is innocent. After some time, Ruby seemingly kills herself and blood gushes out of her. Gigi leaves a photo shoot and proclaims "I need to get her out of me!" to Sarah, as she spits out an eyeball and stabs herself, whereas Sarah sheds a tear, eats the eyeball and walks back to the set.

How's that for an ending to a movie? A young girl trying to make it big in the world and this is how the movie ends?! Funnily enough, the more I think about the movie, the more it makes sense, though, and the more noticeable Refn's direction in early scenes becomes. Very early on in the movie, Jesse complains there is something in her room and asks Hank to help her. However, when they open the door, they find out that the intruder wasn't a person, but a wild panther that got in. While it is fact that wild cats can be seen roaming around LA, this is symbolism for the fact that Jesse is letting dangers into her life very easily, and it shows her frailty. This ending is given more foreshadowing in a scene where Sarah smashes a bathroom mirror and sees Jesse standing next to her. She cuts Jesse's hand and starts sucking on the wound, extremely violently, which horrifies Jesse, and she runs away, which is not-so-subtle foreshadowing for exactly what is going to happen to Jesse in the end.

This is also the part in the movie where the "I hit you, and you stay down" sentiment becomes more apparent as well. This is what Jesse is doing the entire movie, as she goes through the hordes of models, but even when the tables turn, and Jesse goes down, it's not for long, for as we just discussed, Ruby and Gigi kill themselves. It's where Refn's unconventionality comes full circle, as a simple premise has become its own original idea. The whole movie is about going to limits to get to the top, and this movie succeeds in that, albeit with added shock value. The final 15 minutes of this movie left my jaw hanging for a while.

As the days have gone by and I have slowly processed this movie, I came to a realization: this is an important movie from many perspectives. For starters, it visually represents what goes through our minds when we are bettered in something. The movie does personify the exact emotions going through our head, even if they are exaggerated in certain scenes, and Refn is not ashamed to present this, which is admirable. It shows how he has clear control over the story and that it is progressing exactly the way he wants it to, and by representing the human psyche in these depraved actions, he accomplishes that beautifully, accompanied by the gorgeous cinematography and beautiful musical score. Secondly, the title of the movie makes sense in two ways. The Neon Demon is obviously a reference to the fashion world, and how we get so eaten up (no pun intended) by the lights and the cameras and the shows that it consumes us whole. But it is also a reference to Jesse. Her metamorphosis takes place among, you guessed it, neon red and blue lights. But the important part of Jesse's character is the "Demon" in the title. This comes into play as the third act begins. While standing on a diving board, she says something to Ruby that becomes important in the closing minutes:

"Do you know what my mother used to call me? Dangerous. I know what I look like. And what's wrong with that anyway? Women would kill to look like this. They carve and stuff and inject themselves. They starve to death, hoping, praying that one day they'll look like a second-rate version of me."

This is important because that's exactly what Refn does with that line. The three women want to be like Jesse. However, the entire movie has shown that Jesse is far superior than all the other models, and the LA industry thinks that too, which the other two models cannot stand for. Once they eat her, they believe they will continue to stay relevant and live with the fact that they made it. However, that doesn't happen. Jesse's 'path of destruction' continues, as Ruby and Gigi die soon after. Sarah continues to go on, proving in essence that she has no conscience, while also proving that hate triumphs over other emotions in her life. But what makes the "Demon" aspect more relevant is Gigi's last words: "I need to get her out of me." You could say that she has to get the demon out of her.....

Maybe I am analyzing too much (we're 2,000+ words in. Darn), but the movie raises these points and brings things up for discussion. I call this movie the title I gave this article because that's exactly what it is. It is about the rise and fall of these characters done in beautiful fashion (again, no pun intended), thanks to the great use of colors and settings. The Neon Demon is very much so a film that is visually told and has some very interesting themes that make for a rather compelling movie. Even now, as I type this article and build to the final few lines of this analysis, more thoughts pop into my head, such as how it's a commentary on how the fashion world works, but these are ideas that are noticeable from the surface of the movie. It's what's beneath the outside covering that makes the movie important and poignant, and leads people to write 2000+ word analyses of it, and it's what I've done my best to discuss. I hope that in time, this movie gets the recognition it deserves and more people see it for what it really is: a beautiful tragedy.