Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn came to the attention of most cinema-goers when he directed the ultraviolent getaway thriller Drive, which has since developed a huge cult following. This relatively mainstream effort provided the modern-day auteur the opportunity to delve into art-house territory and reach a wide audience simultaneously. His controversial, yet vibrant visions are taken to the extreme in latest work The Neon Demon, an entrancing horror film set around the LA fashion industry. The plot follows young and aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) who, with no family to support her, moves to the big city to follow her dream. At an amateur photo shoot, she befriends make-up artist Ruby (Jenna Malone) who in turn introduces her to professional models Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee). The old-hands fear that they’ll soon be overlooked by Jesse’s natural beauty and vitality, but begrudgingly welcome her to their obsessive cut-throat world.
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DVD review: Lost River
When it premiered at Cannes festival last year, Ryan Gosling’s hotly anticipated directorial debut ‘Lost River’ was panned almost unanimously, which, as a fan of him as an actor only made me more intrigued to see it. Since the negative initial reaction, it has been tweaked and tinkered for its cinema release with a little shaved off the running time. The title refers to the environment in which the film takes place, a warped wasteland where the American Dream has gone horribly sour. The intertwining plotlines follow three main characters in struggling single mother Billy (Christina Hendricks), her eldest son Bones (Iain De Caestecker) and their neighbour Rat (Saoirse Ronan) as they desperately try to better themselves and their lives, looking for a way out of a decaying habitat with no economic promise. Plucking apparent influences from his pool of experience within the industry, the first-time filmmaker forges his own vision of fractured dreams peppered with fantasy neo-noir elements and striking imagery.
Cinema Perspective 