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CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Film Review: Beauty Becomes Beastly in Uneven ‘The Neon Demon’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2016 - 7:56pm
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“The Neon Demon” opened in select theaters on June 24th. See local listings for theaters and show times. Featuring Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks, Bella Heathcoate, Alessandro Nivola and Keanu Reeves. Screenplay by Nicolas Winding Refn, Mary Laws and Polly Stenham. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Rated “R”
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Neon Demon”
The Star Rises: Jesse (Elle Fanning) in ‘The Neon Demon’
Photo credit: Amazon Studios
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Neon Demon”
Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version
CHICAGO – “The Neon Demon” is definitely worth seeing, if only to create an understanding as to what you think beauty is, but the film suffers in its last quarter by taking a turn towards horror. This mix of decisions by director Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”) is audacious and maddening.
 Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
Elle Fanning is the lead actor, a young girl running away to Los Angeles to become “famous” in the world of modeling. As Refn in an interview with HollywoodChicago.com described it, “an archetype.” Her wide-eyed innocence, in the midst of the competitive bitch-ery, is the highlight of the film. I also liked that she never really was confident with her fast rise, and the palpable embarrassment of her youthful naiveté among women in bra/panties who have to walk in front of people is starkly realized. Refn is definitely on to something, until for some creative reason he decides to switch gears in the last quarter of the film, and the darker tone makes little sense, except to shock. But like a one joke premise, it’s a one shock shock, and belittles what had come before it.
Jesse (Elle Fanning) is “fresh off the bus” in Los Angeles, and finds an amateur photographer (Karl Glusman) who also is attracted to her. He sets up a photo session, and Jesse takes the pictures to an agency, where the make-or-break executive Roberta (Christina Hendricks) sees a new star in her constellation. She is then sent to one of the top photographers in the city, and her rise to the top begins.
There are problems, though. Gigi (Bella Heathcoate) and Sarah (Abbey Lee) are rival models who constantly put the young new star down, much to the chagrin of Ruby (Jena Malone), a sympathetic make-up artist. And like many Los Angeles transplants, Jesse has to endure the downtrodden hotel as the only housing she can afford, and it’s run by a creep named Hank (Keanu Reeves).
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Neon Demon”The Star Rises: Jesse (Elle Fanning) in ‘The Neon Demon’
Photo credit: Amazon Studios
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Neon Demon”
