Nicolas Winding Refn‘s 11th film, “Her Private Hell,” is a long way away from the grounded work many fans are familiar with, like “Drive” and “Bronson.” The feature, now in theaters via Neon, is a neon-drenched sci-fi tale of an actress, Elle (Sophie Thatcher), a soldier, Private K (Charles Melton) and a killer known as Leatherman who move around a futuristic city in a dreamy fog. It’s a sexy, sweaty and divisive film, which premiered at Cannes to mixed reviews but is certain to draw a cult audience, like his most recent movie, 2016’s “The Neon Demon,” to which “Hell” feels like a mysterious and fashionable companion piece.
The Danish filmmaker spoke to Variety about the ideas behind “Hell,” its bombastic score, creating the unique visuals and much more.
Where did the idea for “Her Private Hell” come from? It’s much different from your other work.
In a way, you can say everything I’ve done has led to this film, because it’s a kind of an amalgam of everything that I’ve ever done, everything that I like to see. So that’s how it all began. But also freeing myself from conventions in a day and age of algorithms.
There are so many striking images in the film. Are there some you pictured even before you developed the story and wrote the script [with cowriter Esti Giordani]?
