Great article on The Neon Demon
www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/7-reasons-why-the-neon-demon-is-a-great-cinematic-accomplishment/
shareWrong on all accounts. Please rebut.
shareCare to elaborate?
shareActually nevermind. I just read your other posts. My perspective of this film is the polar opposite of yours so I already know I'm going to disagree completely and still find this film to be a flawless piece of art. Sorry you didn't enjoy it though. It's always a quite visceral, everytime I watch it.
shareSorry. I just don't get it. Maybe it's me. Maybe the lack of box office and critical success is just me. I truly have no idea why I hated this movie so much. Almost two hours wasted. It's so bad I am thinking of watching the last hour aging because how in the heck is this rated a 6.3?!?!?!?
shareHere's the thing. I hardly trust critical or commercial success. Have you heard top 40 music today? How Taylor Swift is probably the most successful artist alive right now? How she is also a critical success. Do you notice the influx of Superhero films and half assed sequels and reboots that are critically and commercially extremely successful? (I do enjoy a lot of them so it's not necessarily a judgement on people's taste)
So long story short, I trust my own opinion on this film FAR more than that of a critic or the amount of money it's made. The subject matter, and art house films are very divisive as it is, and Refn is not necessarily most critic's favorite director. So I give very little weight to those opinions.
True enough. You are right actually. I agree. It was a poor direction for my argument or thoughts on this movie. I am going to watch the 2nd half now. I must have missed something.
shareYou finish it? I just did, just now. Second half is definitely different from the first.
By the way, no movie is a waste of your life. If you look at things that way, everything is a waste of time. You either sit down for some form of entertainment (movie, game, show, chat, hobby, drugs, sex, etc.) or you do something more productive. Only two options. You choose an avenue of entertainment, or you choose to do something else. Whether the movie turns out good or bad, who cares. You could "Waste" hundreds of hours going through all the wrong movies to find the right one ... but you pick something up from every wrong movie you watch.
::squishes an eyeball::
You might like it, you might not. But I'll tell you, the first time I watched it I wasn't so sure if I liked it much. But I watched it again because some of the film really stuck with me and I liked it SO much more the second time. His other film Only God Forgives I hated the first time. Gave it a second chance after the Neon Demon, enjoyed it much more but didn't quiet get it. And I watched it for a 3rd time 3 days ago after I watched an online analysis on the film and I LOVED it. I've never seen my opinion on a film shift quite as radically.
His films aren't for everyone and that's understandable. But for people that do, they are like albums that get better and better with more than one listen.
Ok. I will say a couple things. I was overly harsh. This is a atmosphere movie and sometimes as a person you aren't feeling the atmosphere. I am liking it a lot more the second time. Obviously, I had a strong I initial reaction, and maybe that means something. I am not all the way through. I started further back more toward the beginning and got sidetracked with some other stuff.
Things I now love. Sarah played by Abbey Lee. There is just something about her that is mesmerizing. I love the synth music. I like the lighting.
I will say other thoughts Upon completion.
*an atmosphere
shareIt's definitely very atmospheric. That's probably why I love it as much as I do. So what did you think?
shareI did like it better and it's a movie that will stick with me because of its oddity.
Things I liked other than what I mentioned: *Spoilers*
1. The oddity of it it all. The absurdity.
2. Jenna Malone's acting
3. The wonderful final scene when Sarah eats Jesse's eyeball that Gigi threw up
4. Trying to figure out why Sarah would eat an eyeball that seemed to make Gigi kill herself. The last 15 minutes was cool
Things I still didn't like on 2nd viewing:
1. The killing of Jesse's happened too quickly without much of a fight from Jesse.
2. Would have liked to have seen some of the scenes that go nowhere
for no reason to be shortened and then add to that Jesse kill scene
3. This is not scary. Just weird. Weird in a good way I would say, but if a movie is labeled horror it should be somewhat scary
4. Still don't get the lion scene
5. Still don't get the Keanu character with the knife. What happened??
6. A lot of the acting was stiff
7. ELLE is beautiful, but she is pretty in way that isn't model pretty. Hard to explain. They tried to make Sarah not as pretty as Jesse, but there is just something about Sarah in every scene that showed me how much prettier she is than Elle. Thus the fawning over Elle didn't work.
.....I really love Abbey Lee who played Sarah. I also loved her single year as she ate the eye. Wonderful scene.
*Final TEAR. I used to be able to edit my posts. Can't figure it out now since I just use the app.
shareGlad to know you liked it better.
The wildcat scene seems to confuse a lot of people. It's actually foreshadowing and symbolic to what happens to Jesse. She left her backdoor open and a predator got in. Us as the audience doesn't think it's her fault the wildcat got in initially until Keanu's character points out the fact that she was the one who left her backdoor open. Not anyone else. I've found a lot of symbolism in this film in every scene that I didn't notice before multiple viewings.
Oh and that was kind of the point of Jesse, she was supposed to be much more innocent, youthful and natural looking compared to all other models. That's why everyone was so taken by her. She was a slice of real life in the fake world they all lived in.
Ultimately I found this is really just a fairytale told in the way they were originally told before Disney got ahold of them. Ariel died at the end of the Little Mermaid and did NOT receive the prince's love. Belle from Beauty and The Beast was murdered by her jealous sisters. The prince in Snow White wanted to, um, do the dirty with Snow White's dead body.
The 2 models are like evil step sisters. Ruby, the evil queen/witch and Jesse the princess. Dean was the prince, hence the scene of him calling up to Jesse from the ground at the motel and pointing at the moon.
Good stuff. Great explanation.
shareI thought it was terrible. The acting was great but there was no plot or character development. It was a mess.
shareYou don't need a plot to make a great film but there was PLENTY of plot in this. And character development... you are mistaken if you think these things are a good movie make. They aren't. They are just what you are used to. I used to think like you tho so I understand. And btw. It's anti-character development. The characters develop for sure but in a bad way.
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