Review of The Neon Demon (2016) by Cole J — 25 Jun 2016

Visually this movie is stunning.. every frame is photographed with such care and style that it is beautiful to watch... The cinematography, the production design, the music... all excellent.... The performances are hit and miss.

.. Elle Fanning is ok and Jena Malone is a standout but Keanu Reaves appears in a small part as a sleazy motel manager and seems to be in some other movie entirely. The story however is a mess... They were going for certain style points but the script does them no favors by seeming random scenes and characters that pop in and out at odd intervals.

. There is little to no motivation for anything that happens and the film takes a wild turn in the last act that is not only not setup by anything that happens before hand but starts verging into high camp and complete baloney.

It seems like they were making it up as they went along which in many ways they actually were. So its worthwhile viewing for the look, not so much for the story... I will say it is never boring.