You can't hide nor fake talent, and Elle Fanning certainly has plenty of what it takes to be leading a movie.
When I first saw the trailers for The Neon Demon, I was afraid that this role might be too matured for her. All I have seen of Fanning was her being a teenager - which she still is by the way.
But five minutes into the movie and I am a believer. She actually, for the lack of a better word, perfect for the role. Her innocence and that drive to be successful kind of echoes her current situation in Hollywood.
And this story and direction by Nicolas Winding Refn gripped my attention right from the beginning. His artistic camera work and camera panning are signature of his style, and they worked more often than not.
When it comes to artistic shots, the one criticism I would allow myself here would be some artistic scenes were too long, and wished the movie would move a little faster in those moments.
Some other negatives I found here was the plot point with the broken door. If Refn removed that whole thing altogether, I don't think it would matter much and would not have that cliched character arc of the would-be boyfriend paying off some debt.
Another would be how quickly Fanning's character matured. I did not get the sense of time passing and thought a bit more development could have been had there (instead of the lingering artistic shots).
The cast were brilliant. I have never seen Jena Malone in this light. Bella Heathcote and even model Abbey Lee were great in their scenes, thanks to Refn's direction. And Keanu Reeves should do more of these smaller roles in artistic projects as he did add that more matured gravitas with his onscreen presence.
The ending took me offguard and I wasn't expecting such disturbing scenes - scenes that I cannot unsee and will forever be etched in my mind.
Certainly not as good as Drive, which I was hoping to be at least just as good, but still very enjoyable.
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