Elle Fanning plays a 16-year-old beauty from the Midwest, who shows up in LA to be a model. She discovers a world of insecurity, viciousness and some even weirder stuff. Director Nicolas Winding Refn is known as a dramatic visual stylist, but the design of this film is pretty much all it has to recommend it. Then again, you can watch MTV for 15 minutes and see lots of cool images…without the stupid dialogue and agonizing pace. You’ve heard the expression, “You could drive a Mack truck between those pauses”…in this case, you could drive a whole convoy between most of these lines. The film certainly creates an intriguing world and there are some striking visuals, but as it progresses…so slowly…the pretentious approach loses its edge and the absurd twists just seem silly.
(1.5 / 5)