First impressions from Cannes
Cannes marks Nicolas Winding Refn’s return to feature filmmaking, but Her Private Hell wears its influences on its sleeve without delivering a gripping payoff. The film aims for mood over momentum, and that trade-off is hard to swallow as the credits roll.
Thatcher plays Elle, a young actress drafted into a sci‑fi project at her father’s insistence, joined by his new partner and a fresh ingénue as a serial killer known as Leather Man stalks the city. The setup nods to Refn’s past, from the neon-drenched gloss to a stylized urban nightmare.
Refn hires Italian horror maestro Pino Donaggio to craft a score that crackles with dramatic strings, complementing a look built from pink and blue neon and a misty, unsettling atmosphere. Yet the visuals and sound feel more like a mood board than a finished film, and the pacing never quite catches fire.
In performance terms, Thatcher, Liu and Froseth largely whisper through their lines, leaving little room for texture. Charles Melton brings energy in a couple of fight sequences that briefly lift the tempo, underscoring what the film could have been with sharper writing.
Ultimately, Refn’s return signals his signature independence, but Her Private Hell stops short of a reinvention. It’s stylish and intriguing in parts, yet feels like a concept waiting for a more decisive, fully realized realization of its ideas.
Source: Original article
