The finished version of the film, which tells the story of a young model swallowed up by the dark world of fame, in fact features scenes so shocking in their violence against women that they drew comment from even the most hardened of critics.īut Refn’s previous films, including Drive and Only God Forgives, have each been awarded 18 certificates. She has previously told how she was brought into the project as his first co-writer to help Refn do “something different”, writing a horror film with female protagonists after he “got a lot of stick for doing films some people think are violently misogynistic”.

The film, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks and Keanu Reeves, was co-written by Polly Stenham, the 29-year-old British playwright hailed as the next big talent of her generation. The Neon Demon, which is yet to pass the British censors, saw critics stand up to boo and shout at the screen after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. A controversial film co-written by a British playwright has been jeered in Cannes over shocking scenes including murder, cannibalism, and lesbian necrophilia - and is destined for British cinemas this summer.

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