Refn's Surreal Comeback: Her Private Hell Unfolds at Cannes

Nicolas Winding Refn returns to cinema with Her Private Hell at Cannes (out of competition), a surreal, visually lush experience that emphasizes mood and Pino Donaggio’s emotive score over traditional storytelling. Set in a dreamlike, neon-lit megacity, the film follows Elle (Sophie Thatcher) as a high-stakes film shoot spirals into mysticism, murder, and the Leather Man, with Private K (Charles Melton) appearing like a spectral avenger. Echoing Bergman’s Persona and 2001-era imagery, the movie is a bold, polarizing blend of style and ambiguity that marks Refn’s first feature since Neon Demon and his near-fatal heart condition, signaling a daring, if divisive, new direction for his work.