“This movie is going to hell”
A line of dialogue spoken by a character while filming a Barbarella-esque sci-fi movie within the movie. However, Nicolas Winding Refn has brought Hell to us with this torturous 109-minute equivalent of cinematic purgatory.
The story, if you could call it that, features a futuristic metropolis engulfed by a mysterious mist, and with it comes a deadly and elusive entity.
The screenplay is absolutely horrendous. Characters converse in flat, dull, stilted dialogue, delivered with a sense of detachment by the actors. Was disassociating from the material the only way to get through filming it? It got to the point where one began to reassess Drive and whether its success was down to Ryan Gosling’s character being mostly silent…
The longer it goes on, the more bizarre and baffling the entire thing becomes. The score feels more suited to a grand sweeping melodrama, the acting exudes “bad Eighties soap opera”, whilst the visuals, which are beautifully shot, are very neo-noir. “Attractive but unfuckable” is a term used to describe a character, but also works for the movie.
The sad thing is, buried beneath all the neon lighting and damnable dialogue is the premise for a decent Giallo horror. The Leather Man, with his diamond-encrusted gloves and penchant for delivering profuse amounts of profondo rosso by ripping apart the chests of women with daddy issues, is almost tailor-made for that world. So it is all the more frustrating that Winding Refn decided to go with an aesthetic that wanted to be Blade Runner 2049 and ended up more like Blade Runner £20.49.
The only one who comes out of this one clean is Charles Melton, who exudes charisma and a brooding screen presence that deserves a better showcase. Plus, he delivers an iconic way of lighting a cigarette when you don’t have a lighter at hand.
Sophie Butcher often has a look on her face as though she is trying to work out if her character is in the middle of a dream. Unfortunately for the audience, it was a dream you cannot wake up from. Her Private Hell is a very public hell for anyone unfortunate enough to experience it.
Her Private Hell screened at the Cannes Film Festival
Rating: 
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Stars: Sophie Butcher, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Charles Melton, Diego Calva, Dougray Scott
Runtime: 109 minutes
Country: USA/Denmark
