The Neon Demon is the latest effort from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives), and it’s a visually alerting feast not only for your eyes but for, er, other things as well. Let’s just say, this one sticks with you.
The story revolves around an aspiring model, Jesse (Elle Fanning), who moves to Los Angeles to fulfill her big dreams. Her youth, vitality and beauty, however, is envied by her fellow beauty-obsessed colleagues (Bella Heathcote, Abby Lee, Jena Malone) – so much so that they will take extreme measures to get what she has. It isn’t long before Jesse finds herself navigating through the shark-infested world, starting out as an innocent but quickly realizing the absolute power she wields with just the way she looks.
Refn’s signature slow-burn technique is played out once again here, mixed with weird, beautiful – and violent – images, while a haunting, jarring score runs underneath. The Neon Demon now stands as one of his best films to date, and we were thrilled to be able to catch up with some of the cast at the recent LA press day. While we’ve already brought you our interview with the director and Christina Hendricks, in this video we chat with Heathcote about her role and what she learnt about the world of modelling.
Check out what she had to say in the video above and be sure to catch The Neon Demon as it’s now in theatres.
