the neon demon (2016) - casting call scene

I once had an audition where the people at the table talked amongst themselves throughout my entire audition aria. When I got done, they said, "Thank you" without even looking up. I found out later that they had already cast one of their regulars in the role, but they had to still go through the charade of holding auditions. I had flown from the Midwest and stayed overnight in a NYC hotel, all on my own dime, just to attend that audition. Good times.

Elle fanning's acting is just breathtaking in this scene. She makes Jesse look enchantingly innocent yet slyly confident at the same time, especially when she's just sitting in her chair amongst the other girls waiting for her group's turn.

The way that we hear his breathing and him licking his lips as he watches Jesse makes this even creepier. Definitely adds to the predatory role.

Small detail i noticed, Jessie is the only one who doesn't squeak when she walks

The way the designer creeps out. They are turned on by innocence and then immediately destroy it.

The fact that her walk is one of the only walks we don’t get to see. We only see how he looks at her while she’s walking, just further establishing that the whole point of this is his male gaze. Absolutely gut wrenching

This movie made me NEVER want to be a model. It's so brutal, daunting and lonely

I hate how these people act like they are curing cancer or something serious and important.

She is gorgeous. But I fear what he liked was her age/virginity /childlike look. I think it means something else in this film. And the virgin makes predators hungry.

Being a model is incredibly dehumanising, it is made out to be this wonderful glamorous thing, but it really isn't. I was in a competition at 16 and was made to stand in a bikini with a bunch of adults measuring my body as an insecure teenager, it was absolutely disgusting and awful.

I love the creepy pacing of this movie

notice how jesse was the only one in white while the rest of the girls are in black or tan? even from the beginning of the movie they wanted to show how “angelic” and “pure” she is. beautiful work by everyone involved

Sarah literally looks like a top model so they can miss me with that shit. 😭

The opening shot is pretty cool. Jessie's in the middle and all the other models are pointed towards her or looking at her. It shows that she is the main attraction (both in the movie and in the audition) but they also have frustrated and envious facial expressions.

I love this scene because it perfectly encapsulates the intended catharsis of the film. The obsession/predation of innocence in hopes of eventually corrupting it. Sarah's character has been in the industry a while and was initially in Jessie's position before the industry inevitably corrupted and mutated her "purity" (which is really code for naivete). This is evident by her lack of preparedness and experience before her walk. In any other field of work, this would deter potential employers, but in this example, it works to her benefit because lack of experience and know-how means she is more susceptible to being taken advantage of. Jessie is the object of adulation by the designer in this sequence because he sees her as the proverbial "new toy" to play with. He is a creep. Beautiful visual storytelling implies he used up Sarah's "purity" last season and therefore her "value". Because she is no longer as easily manipulated, he has lost interest in her, on to the next poor ingénue. Abbey Lee's beautiful portrayal of Sarah displays the character's disillusionment with her perceived value in an industry she loves but is consistently abused by. Jessie and Sarah serve as personified representations of beauty before and after it is corrupted by obsession and predation. One woman is not better than the other in terms of beauty or grace. They are products of a prejudiced and deeply problematic industry that inevitably destroys the very thing it covets. This is also visually displayed by all of the black and brown models being few and far between and tucked away in the background. The film highlights the grotesque status quo estimation of beauty in the fashion industry which is guided by the larger discriminatory and sexist societal perspectives on a person's value.

He wasn’t even looking. LMAO

Love this movie. Turned me into an Elle Fanning fan. Vary versatile actress.

My friend was model all her youth. She had more then 30 covers. And she said you’ll pass one of 10 casting and it’s okay it’s part of the profession. No drama.

That one dislike is Sarah

Can see how jealous there were right from the start