The Holly Kane Experiment

Marvin Greenslade invites Holly to attend Berlioz's 'The Damnation of Faust'. During the play, Faust makes a deal with Méphistophélès to be with his love only to be duped and met with demonic apparitions and lured into Hell whilst his love goes to Heaven. This is comparable to the deal-with-the-Devil that Holly makes with Greenslade which enables her to conduct her research funded and secure from legal action. Similar to the 'seduction' of Faust by Méphistophélès, the comparison of the narratives is further supported in the film through the, albeit questionable, seduction of Holly, leading to an act of sexual intercourse between Kane and Greenslade.

The company that Marvin Greenslade runs is called 'Damascus Research'. Damascus is a clear reference to the Damascene Conversion in the New Testament of the Bible wherein Saul became Paul and encounters Christophany (An apparition which draws comparisons to Holly's hallucinations) and converts to Judaism, promising to no longer persecute Christ's followers. This is especially poignant as the purpose of Greenslade's research company appears to be to de-radicalise extremist terrorists and 'change their identities' (As in from Saul to Paul) in the wake of suicide attacks influenced by ISIS, who are referenced several times throughout the film.

During the scene where Marvin Greenslade puts Holly Kane to bed in his apartment, there is a sketch above the bed in the style of Tracey Emin. Emin, an artist concerned with the expression of female sexuality, represents the irony of Greenslade's libido; he appears keenly interested in the sexuality of Holly Kane, but little about her self-expression and suppresses her sexual identity through coercion and 'brainwashing', ensuring she remains an object of sexual desire but non-expressive.