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The editor seemed to have been stuck in molasses, and I love it! The oddball Lynchian characters and beautiful art direction needed as much breathing room as they could get. If dark ambient were a subgenre in film, this would be an exemplar. It also has the slick 80’s throwback vibe supplemented with enough neon imagery to short-circuit a replicant, and an arpeggio-saturated synth score. I think this stuff normally seems trite in modern pop culture, but the movie whores it out enough to make it work for me.
I suppose the consensus on this is pretty negative. I can’t fault people for being averse to the monotonous style. Refn seems like one of those odd, twisted arthouse directors that I love, only he’s somehow come across a budget. He isn’t the best at the style, but I can’t help but appreciate his brass. He seems to have taken on some slightly more commercial enterprises to get his foot in the door. Now that he’s in, he’s barred it behind him.
He’s particularly vulnerable to criticism though, because he seems to continually get more self-indulgent and less self-aware as he goes along. After spamming his name in the credits, you’d think you were getting the next Kubrick. I don’t give a f*ck though, because he clearly doesn’t. I think in many cases, a selfish artist is the most honest artist. The only thing I can ask is he push it even further next time.
I love the ridiculous deadpan, I love the gradual descent into exploitation, and of course the style fits my taste like a glove. There’s a ton of inadvertent humor, but that only added to my enjoyment. Oh boy, what an ending.
The Neon Demon (2016)
The editor seemed to have been stuck in molasses, and I love it! The oddball Lynchian characters and beautiful art direction needed as much breathing room as they could get. If dark ambient were a subgenre in film, this would be an exemplar. It also has the slick 80’s throwback vibe supplemented with enough neon imagery to short-circuit a replicant, and an arpeggio-saturated synth score. I think this stuff normally seems trite in modern pop culture, but the movie whores it out enough to make it work for me.
I suppose the consensus on this is pretty negative. I can’t fault people for being averse to the monotonous style. Refn seems like one of those odd, twisted arthouse directors that I love, only he’s somehow come across a budget. He isn’t the best at the style, but I can’t help but appreciate his brass. He seems to have taken on some slightly more commercial enterprises to get his foot in the door. Now that he’s in, he’s barred it behind him.
He’s particularly vulnerable to criticism though, because he seems to continually get more self-indulgent and less self-aware as he goes along. After spamming his name in the credits, you’d think you were getting the next Kubrick. I don’t give a f*ck though, because he clearly doesn’t. I think in many cases, a selfish artist is the most honest artist. The only thing I can ask is he push it even further next time.
I love the ridiculous deadpan, I love the gradual descent into exploitation, and of course the style fits my taste like a glove. There’s a ton of inadvertent humor, but that only added to my enjoyment. Oh boy, what an ending.