When you work your way through a director’s filmography, particularities of mise-en-scène often become apparent. Nicolas Winding Refn’s next film—The Neon Demon—has a title that promises more of the same. I’m looking forward to it.
Pusher (1996)
Kim Bodnia (above) and Laura Drasbæk (below).
Bleeder (1999)
Zlatko Buric (above) and Kim Bodnia (below).
Fear X (2003)
John Turturro and a hotel in Montana that looks like an annex of Hell.
Pusher II (2004)
Mads Mikkelsen (above) and Leif Sylvester (below).
Pusher III (2005)
Zlatko Buric again. Not much red light but a lot of red clothes throughout. Also a memorable corpse-disposal problem.
Bronson (2008)
Tom Hardy in and out of prison.
Valhalla Rising (2009)
Mads Mikkelsen amid some lurid Scottish landscapes.
Drive (2011)
Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling.
Only God Forgives (2013)
Yayaying Rhatha Phongam (below) and Ryan Gosling (again) whose pulchritude is repeatedly juxtaposed with the best wallpaper in the world. So many scenes are drenched with scarlet neon it’s difficult to pick a favourite shot.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Valhalla Rising