The first line of dialogue in “The Neon Demon” is a relatively innocent one: “Am I staring?”
The answer is yes, and you will be staring, too: “The Neon Demon” is eye-candy of a high order. But there’s nothing innocent about it.
This is the new film from Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish creator of “Drive” and “Only God Forgives.” Like those films, it is enigmatic and very, very slow. It got booed at the Cannes Film Festival last month, which is always a sign that something intriguing is going on.
The setting is Hollywood, or at least a fantasy version of Hollywood. A 16-year-old blond waif named Jesse (Elle Fanning) is trying her luck as a model. Her natural beauty and dazed manner attracts a series of friends and predators to her gravitational pull.
These include a second-rate photographer (Karl Glusman), a first-rate fashion designer (Alessandro Nivola), and the bottom-feeding manager of the sleazy motel where Jesse first perches. He’s played by Keanu Reeves, a sign of how Refn’s reputation as a stylish talent can attract stars to small roles.
It’s Jesse’s female acquaintances who may be the biggest threat, however. A make-up artist (Jena Malone, from “The Hunger Games”) clearly has designs on our heroine, and two established models (Abbey Lee and Bella Heathcote, both quite good) see Jesse as a rival.
This is the set-up, but there is nothing normal about the way “The Neon Demon” unfolds from there. One character declares, “Beauty isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” You get the feeling he speaks for Refn himself, because this director doesn’t seem interested in psychology or storytelling.
He’s very good at glitter, however, and at drenching the screen in bold colors. The movie sounds incredible, too, from Cliff Martinez’ synth-heavy score to the eerie silences — actual silences, without the humming ambient noise that most movies include so the audience doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
Here, the audience will feel uncomfortable. Either you’ll be bored by the glacial pace or appalled (and maybe amused) by the creepy violence that breaks out; this is an art movie with a horror film inside it.
You won’t be indifferent. “The Neon Demon” is pretty loopy, but its gorgeous absurdities are more interesting than most sane movies can offer.
“The Neon Demon” (3 stars)
“Drive” director Nicolas Winding Refn conjures up this enigmatic tale of a Hollywood newcomer (a dazed Elle Fanning) trying her luck as a model. It’s pretty loopy, but Refn’s glittering visual approach makes it an eye-popping experience — an art movie with a horror film inside it.
Rating: R, for violence, nudity
Showing: Sundance Cinemas and Egyptian theater
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