NWR dives into Her Private Hell

When Danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn shared his new film Her Private Hell at the Cannes premiere, he framed the experience as a return to the world of making movies following a near-death event. This powerful cinematic venture was not just a narrative journey; it felt like a profound reckoning with time, existence, and the intoxicating nature of art.

Refn’s career is already etched in cinema’s history. Born in Copenhagen and raised partly in New York City, his lineage in filmmaking runs deep, stemming from his father, Anders Refn, and cinematographer Vibeke Winding. He first burst onto the scene in the mid-90s with the intense action of the “Pusher” trilogy starring Mads Mikkelsen. He further established himself in the English-speaking world with the black comedy biopic Bronson and the adventurous Valhalla Rising. His magnum opus, the critically acclaimed cult classic Drive, cemented his place in modern cinema, pairing stunning visuals with a potent, minimalist intensity.

While Refn has recently explored streaming television series like “Copenhagen Cowboy” and the crime drama “Too Old to Die Young”, his latest feature, “Her Private Hell,” leans into the darker, more sensual landscapes of his earlier work, reminiscent of films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon>, both of which delve into hidden emotions and taboo subjects.

“Her Private Hell” immerses audiences in a world saturated with high-key bisexual lighting and stylized Giallo-inspired gore. The film centers on Sophie Thatcher as Elle, navigating complex relationships with her father, the lothario Johnny Thunders, while facing jealousy, fear, and desire. Amidst these emotional swells, Elle and her companions find themselves trapped in a neon-lit hotel, confronted by a vicious serial killer named the Leatherman and a mysterious soldier, Private K.

The narrative is built on tension and palpable atmosphere, wrapped in an operatic score by collaborators like Pino Donaggio. The film explores intense female friendship and coming-of-age themes, using facial expressions as the primary vehicle for emotion. This focus on the human face—the most effective and inexpensive commodity—allows the story to unfold intuitively, drawing viewers into a space where emotions speak louder than words.

Refn’s journey back to filmmaking is rooted in a realization about the nature of reality itself. He discovered that art serves as a powerful collective experience, a democratic space where all people meet on equal terms. For him, cinema is an accessible language for creativity, and it is through this medium that he seeks to explore deeper truths.

This search for truth led him to the timeless power of fairytales. He found in these stories an intoxicating freedom—a language that transcends genre, culture, sex, and time. Fairytales are ageless psychological structures, teaching us universal human experiences. By embracing this form, Refn infuses his cinematic storytelling with a sophisticated depth that is both childishly pure and profoundly advanced.

The film’s intricate structure mirrors this layered reality, weaving together themes of fatherhood, loss, and the search for self within an unsettling, yet beautiful, environment. The visual poetry of the film, underscored by Donaggio’s epic score, provides an undeniable sense of destiny, making it a compelling testament to the enduring power of human emotion.