A young model Jesse (Elle Fanning) has moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a model and at her first shoot she meets make-up artist Ruby (Jena Malone) who quickly befriends her and introduces Jesse to fellow models Sarah (Abbey Lee) and Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and so begins Jesse’s trip into the strange, unsavoury world of the fashion industry where she meets a wide array of characters but all of which are only ever looking out for number one in a cut throat world in which Jesse must evolve and adapt if she is to survive.

Jesse is the ideal character as pure, untainted and virginal, almost always dressed in white or in innocent floral dresses against the harsh brash outfits of the rest of the cast. She is only barely sixteen and has forged her parental consent form in order to get a contract. She is the epitome of a blank page and that is why she is so intriguing to the designers but it is also why she is the envy of fellow models who were in her place once but no longer have the innocence.

While it all came together in the end there are some scenes which will leave you baffled in the context that they are used, for example there’s a scene where Jesse cuts her hand on glass and Sarah offers to help but, while I won’t outline what she does, her actions, at that time, make no sense at all. Also, there’s a speech from Gigi about cosmetic surgery and perfection which again at the time just sounds egotistic, and it is, but which makes much more sense later in the film and this is the real issue with the movie, there are lots of things going on but it doesn’t always seem relevant until later as things are revealed. While it might be construed as clever if the movie was more fast paced the slow development of the plot means that it was very difficult to stay interested in all aspects of the movie.

There were elements of Black Swan and another movie I watched recently, High Rise with perhaps a bit of a Single White Female throw in for good measure but it never got to the same levels as any of those movies. Both Fanning and Malone were good in their roles but these were the only two characters who felt like they had any depth or development and Malone probably outshined Fanning when on screen, all the other players seemed like place holders and pieces in a puzzle. Christina Hendricks only appears for five minutes and Keanu Reeves, while having a little more involvement was still  a bit of a bit part and both roles could really have been played by anybody so I’m not sure of their purpose other than adding an A-list name to the cast. I will credit the Cliff Martinez almost dream like musical accompaniment worked very well in adding to the surreal feel of the scenes and is one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a while.

Although he has a very unusual style, I love director Nicolas Winding Refn’s movie Drive which I thought was a very underrated movie and was superb both visually and from a story telling point of view, but this was missing something in terms of the plot development and pacing so instead of being gripping it seemed like it was designed to shock, and I’m sure in that sense it will shock some. Although it’s listed as a horror movie it’s more a thriller with some disturbing moments and while it’s not a bad movie, it’s just very strange which at times felt like it was a pet project for the director rather than making a movie for his audience.

There’s a line in the movie where Fanning states “Beauty isn’t everything, it’s the only things.” unfortunately, when it comes to movies a great looking movie doesn’t always make a good film but it felt like the type of movie that may be more appreciated after a second viewing as it was quite easy to miss subtle moments on screen which became bigger things so while I can’t see this being a hit with the masses it may become a cult hit.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5 Out Of 10