The Neon Demon

Am I staring?

A little.

Sorry.

You just have such beautiful skin.

I'm Ruby, by the way.

Do you have a name,

or you want me to guess?

Jesse.

Jesse.

And you just got to LA, Jesse?

How did you know?

You've got that look.

Oh, don't worry, honey.

That whole deer-in-the-headlights thing is exactly what they want.

Here. Let me help you with that.

Are you a model?

No, I do makeup.

So, where are you staying?

At a motel in Pasadena.

By yourself?

Mmm-hmm.

What do your parents think about that?

They don't really.

Don't think, or just don't care?

They're not around anymore.

I'm sorry.

Hey, you wanna go somewhere?

Where?

A party.

What kind of party?

The fun kind.

God, I love this color on me.

Red rum.

What?

That's what it's called.

They say women are more likely to buy a lipstick

if it's named after food or sex.

Just think about it.

Black honey.

Plum passion.

Peachy keen.

Pink pussy.

What about you, Sarah, what would your lipstick be called?

Fuck off.

Apt.

What about you?

What about me?

Are you food

or are you sex?

She's dessert because she's so sweet.

Hmm.

Shouldn't we get back to the party?

Don't talk.

Still.

So what do we think?

I think that I wish I had your hair.

Is this your natural color?

You are just so beautiful.

Don't you think that she's just perfect?

Is that your real nose?

Yeah.

God, life is so unfair.

Gigi just got out of the body shop.

She's still a little sensitive.

You had work done?

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Sweet, plastics is just good grooming.

Imagine going a year without

brushing your teeth.

I go to this guy in Beverly hills.

- Andrew. - Dr. Andrew.

She is in love with him.

Of course I love him.

Look at me.

He calls me the bionic woman.

Is that a compliment?

I hear your parents are dead.

That must be really hard for you.

Do you have other family?

No.

No one at all?

You must have a boyfriend.

All she really wants to know is, who are you fucking?

Sorry?

What?

Isn't that what everyone wants to know?

A pretty new girl walks into a room, everyone's head turns,

looks her up and down, wondering,

"who is she fucking?

"Who could she fuck?

"And how high can she climb, and is it higher than me?"

I don't... I don't know.

I just got to town, so I don't know anybody here.

Right. But you've slept with men before.

You do sleep with men, don't you?

All the time.

I think I will get back to the party.

Someone said there was gonna be a show.

Jesse, are you coming?

Who did you say shot these? A boyfriend?

Not really.

Not really or no?

No.

It was just some guy, he found me online.

Be careful with that.

You're very fit.

Thank you.

You're also very young.

I think you're perfect.

I would never say you're fat.

But that doesn't mean that someone else won't.

Understand?

I see 20 or 30 girls come in here every day.

Mostly from small towns with big dreams

because some guy named Chad in the food court told them

they were beautiful enough to be a model.

And they're all good.

You...

You're going to be great.

Some girls crack under the pressure, but if you do okay,

then we are off to New York.

You'll work with all the top designers.

International success.

So the first thing we need to do

is get you some pictures that are a little less amateur hour,

no offense.

Jack MacArthur is in town. Do you know him?

No.

Get to know him.

I had to pull some strings,

but I sent him your Polaroids,

and he has agreed to do a test with you.

How does that sound?

It sounds great.

It sounds...

Sounds good.

Well, there's just a teensy bit of paperwork.

I'll need a copy of your driver's license and a voided check,

and I can take those right now.

When did you graduate from high school?

I'm actually still kind of working on it.

I need a parental consent form.

You can go.

Parental consent form.

Just one signature there for parental consent.

One little signature and we're off.

When someone asks, I want you to say you are 19.

Always 19.

Eighteen is too on the nose.

No one's going to believe that.

Honey.

People believe what they are told.

Hi. Hi.

I have... I bought you flowers, but...

Oh. Sorry. You go.

No, you first.

I was just gonna say I signed with that agency.

That's great news. Congratulations.

Thanks.

Hey, did they say anything about my pictures?

Didn't come up.

Cool, that's cool.

Come on.

Don't forget me when you're all famous now.

In Georgia, the sky is also this big.

Makes being a person down on earth feel really small.

You could feel small here, too.

Do you?

Sometimes.

When I was a kid,

I would sneak out onto the roof at night.

I thought the moon looked like a big round eye.

And I would look up and I'd say,

"do you see me?"

I would stay out there for hours.

Sometimes I'd fall asleep just dreaming.

About what?

What I would be.

What was that?

I could never figure it out.

I can't sing. I can't dance.

I can't write.

No real talent.

But I'm pretty,

and I can make money off pretty.

So...

I think you're probably good at a lot of things.

You can't tell.

We just met.

We didn't just meet.

We met the other day.

Trust me.

I can tell.

They want me to lie.

Who wants you to lie?

The agency.

They want me to say I'm 19.

How old are you?

Sixteen last month.

You know, I think I left the stove on at home.