Nicolas Winding Refn’sHer Private Hellannouncementbrings the director back to feature filmmaking after nearly a decade off from directing movies to make a couple of memorable shows. He has been focused on long-form storytelling for a while now, starting with theshowToo Old to Die Young, and he even opened his own streaming service, byNWR, which allows one to watch vintage movies for free. His latest show,Copenhagen Cowboy, was one of thebest new releases on Netflix in 2022. It is known for its visual style and the incredible performance of the lead actress, Angela Bundalovic.
Now, he’s finally back to directing feature films. His last full-length movie came out in 2016, and we are excitedly awaiting more information onHer Private Hell. Nicolas Winding Refn is known for stylish visuals, marked by frames flooded by neon lights and captured with his signature 360-degree camera rotation. Moreover,there is a narrative dreaminess in his storytelling as the films meander through various plot points and slow meditative scenes of silence and minimally written character interactions on their way to the climax, often stopping at set pieces marked by extreme violence.
Only God Forgives
Cast
Only God Forgives is a 2013 crime drama directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The film follows Julian, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, who manages a Thai boxing club masking his family’s drug trade. Compelled by his formidable mother, Crystal, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, Julian seeks to avenge his brother’s death.
Few modern directors execute the style-over-substance approach to storytelling better than Nicolas Winding Refn. His films' characteristic pitch-dark spaces, punctuated by a dizzying array of neon arrangements, invite viewers to sit back, relax, and bask in the glow of the neon signs he so loves to film from every angle. However, the drawback of this style of narrative design is that it becomes difficult to care about the characters in the story.
Only God Forgivesfollows a man, portrayed by Ryan Gosling, who runs a Thai boxing club as a front for his family’s criminal business. After a drug smuggling operation goes wrong, his brother is killed, and he is sent by his mother to seek revenge. Unfortunately, the movie would have benefited from having no moments of sincere character interaction, asthe characters feel like excuses for Refn to clash bone with bone in glitzy spaces. They’re not written with enough detail to be invested in their stories specifically, and the film’s charm lies in its violent, frenetic, and brooding energy.
The Neon Demon
The Neon Demon is a psychological horror film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The story revolves around Jesse, an aspiring model played by Elle Fanning, who moves to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion. She quickly discovers the dark and competitive underbelly of the modeling world, where beauty becomes a dangerous currency. The film co-stars Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, and Keanu Reeves.
The problem of prioritizing visual aesthetics and style over narrative construction is that it becomes impossible to deal with serious subject matter without coming across as lecturing and posturing. A movie that addresses the fashion industry’s obsession with appearances shouldn’t be complicit in proliferating said obsession. Unfortunately, Refn seems to havemissed the point of the commentary he attempts to make with his filmThe Neon Demon,which follows a model who moves to Los Angeles to become a fashion star, and makes a group of models envious of her.
The Neon Demonwas Nicolas Winding Refn’s last feature film before he started working onHer Private Hell.
The models insert themselves into her life and gradually make her unravel, before eventually devouring her, quite literally. The indulgent visuals sexualize every female body in sight, and yet, shy away from depicting the moments of pure primal violence. If not for the depiction of the ruthlessness of the appearance-obsessed industry, the poor writing and cinematography would have made it even more pretentious.The Substance, one of thebest thriller movies of 2024, while also having the same problem with its gaze, is at least more attuned to the real-life experience of working in such industries.
Fear X
Fear X, released in 2003, follows Harry, who is haunted by mysterious visions after his wife’s murder. Driven to uncover the true circumstances behind the seemingly random incident, he embarks on a journey, blurring the lines between reality and obsession in his quest for truth.
Of all the beloved TV shows that fans want to protect and gatekeep so they don’t lose their characteristic charm,Twin Peaksis perhaps the best example of abeloved TV show that should never be remade. With David Lynch no longer with us, the show and all related material should be left untouched, because his unique style of surrealism can neither be recreated nor repurposed. If one must tell a similar story, though, Nicolas Winding Refn would be a strong candidate.
Refn’sFear X, his first feature film in the 21st Century, and third in his directorial career, follows John Turturro as an unlikely detective trying to solve the mystery of his missing wife. With surrealistic visions that incorporate surveillance footage, the film often attempts to blur the boundaries between real and imaginary. However, the slow burn may not feel rewarding, and whilethe film shouldn’t have bankrupted him and his production company, there are perhaps better ways to tell the story he wants to. Nonetheless, it’s a must-watch for fans of surreal crime dramas.
Valhalla Rising
Valhalla Rising is a 2009 film set in 1,000 AD, following the mute warrior One Eye and young companion Are as they escape captivity and embark on a perilous journey. Their voyage on a Viking vessel leads them to an uncharted land, uncovering fate and true identity amid mysterious circumstances.
Set in the twelfth century,Valhalla Risingsees Nicolas Winding Refn take on Viking loreas his film follows a supernaturally strong warrior named One Eye on his adventures after escaping from his captors. The signature Refn traits of a morally compromised character introspecting on his identity and purpose, and a nearly overwhelming display of violence, tell you that it’s undoubtedly a Refn film, despite the movie being set in a world he barely ever tackles.
Its hypnotic cinematography and memorable soundscapes are sure to keep viewers hooked.
Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as One Eye is the best part ofValhalla Rising, and its worst part is its obsession with symbolism. Some of the metaphors, while seemingly subtle, are reproduced too many times for the film not to feel self-indulgent. Yet, its hypnotic cinematography and memorable soundscapes are sure to keep viewers hooked and invested even as the plot barely develops in its attempt to comment on the role of violence in determining morality.
6Bleeder (1999)
Starring Kim Bodnia & Mads Mikkelsen
Even though thegreat TV show started decliningin season 3,Killing Eveis worth watching till the end despite it shifting focus to other characters, simply for the performances. If the story hadn’t focused so much on Konstantin, we wouldn’t have had the eclectic mix of adorable uncle and dangerous business-minded assassin that Kim Bodnia delivers. His characters have a knack for being the heart of a story despite being angsty and undoubtedly questionable people, and nowhere is this more apparent inBleeder.
Nicolas Winding Refn’s sophomore feature stars Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen as two unrelated characters in personal crises. The former is in trouble with his brother-in-law for taking out his anger on his pregnant wife, while the latter struggles to forge the kind of bond he wants with a waitress. The stakes are vastly different, and yet, in the hands of Refn, who punctuates every film with violence, the two stories somehow feel equivalent in tension.Movie buffs have a treat waiting for them in Mikkelsen’s dialogueas he plays a cinephile.
Bronson
Bronson, released in 2008, follows the story of a young man originally sentenced to seven years for post office robbery. Over time, he spends three decades in solitary confinement, during which his identity becomes dominated by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
Tom Hardy delivers a career-best performance as the career criminal Charles Bronsonin the biopic of Britain’s most violent criminal. Nicolas Winding Refn gives Hardy complete freedom to disappear into the role of the titular Bronson, and he portrays the character’s lack of empathy so perfectly that it’s scary. The film is dripping in the brooding and seedy visual aesthetic that Refn is known for, and the style beautifully complements the story.
Bronson is a man devoid of feelings and razor-focused on his life’s mission of inflicting violence and wreaking havoc everywhere possible. Michael Peterson (his real name) has lost all sense of humanity as his primal instinct of fighting and causing chaos gets the better of him all the time. While Hardy’s showcase of his incredible acting talent is worth watching, the film can feel pointless at times, even if that’s the intention, becauseBronsonindulges in depicting him repeating his pattern of violent behavior with editing choices that confuse viewers about the progression of time.
Pusher
Pusher is a 1996 Danish crime drama directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The film follows Frank, a small-time drug dealer in Copenhagen, whose life spirals out of control over the course of a week after a deal goes wrong. Starring Kim Bodnia, the film is recognized for its raw depiction of the city’s criminal underworld and its intense narrative.
Nicolas Winding Refn’s directorial debut feature makes it clear that he is a man with a vision and a self-indulgent visual artist who loves filming humanity at its lowest. The themes of amorality and circumstantial violence that define his filmography are presented in their rawest form inPusher. Starring Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen in the lead roles,Pusherobserves from an impersonal perspective as people lose their calm and situations escalate.
Pushermarks Mads Mikkelsen’s acting debut and is often considered to be one of the most influential Danish films of all time.
Kim Bodnia plays a man whose life starts unraveling after a bad drug deal leaves him indebted to a dangerous drug lord and with no immediate means of accumulating that large a sum of money. His desperation drives him to chaotic and despicable depths, and all we can do is helplessly watch him. Refn employs a realistic andgritty documentary-like storytelling format that places the audience in the middle of conversations, but still leaves an objective distance, immersing viewers in an anxiety-inducing experience they’ll not forget easily.
3Pusher III (2005)
Starring Zlatko Buric & Marinela Dekic
Comparisons of thePusherfilms toUncut Gems, where Adam Sandler delivers one of thebest A24 movie performancesever, are inevitable. The Safdie brothers' films also focus on characters who unravel over a short period of time as anxiety-inducing odds keep piling up against them. However, the final entry in Refn’s crime trilogy is marked by a deviation from the tone of its predecessors – it’s less angsty and more somber.
Milo is a senior drug dealer, almost untouchable for his status in the community, but he is shortchanged by an incorrect shipment that he struggles to sell. He grapples with his inability to leave his old ways behind, his daughter’s upcoming 25th birthday, and the lack of support he receives from old friends. The film is characterized by excess gore, but Refn’s maturity as a filmmaker shines through as he approaches the story with a sorrow hanging over every frame,as if mourning the protagonist’s plight instead of watching chaos unfold.
Drive
Starring Ryan Gosling as an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver (identified only as “the Driver”) who moonlights as a criminal getaway driver, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive follows the enigmatic Driver as he finds himself hunted by a gang of violent criminals. After becoming close with his neighbors, the Driver offers to help Standard (Oscar Isaac), who was recently released from prison, settle a debt with a robbery. But the job is far more complicated than it seems, and the Driver is forced to use everything at his disposal to survive.
While it’s difficult to specifically pick one of Nicolas Winding Refn’s movies as his crowning achievement in filmmaking,Driveundoubtedly belongs in the conversation. His most polished film, Refn’s rumination with morality and his obsession with neon lights in polished and dark spaces come together to provide Ryan Gosling with the perfect backdrop for his performance as the ruthless stunt driver who leaves a trail of bodies wherever he goes.
Dreamy and meandering,Driveis an atmospheric film more focused on developing the mood for the character’s progression than anything else. The style-over-substance approach to storytelling perfectly complementsthe hollow shell of a man that the protagonist is. He has no name, as he simply goes by Driver, and he has a deceptively calm demeanor. The film quickly descends into utter homicidal chaos as Driver’s world is upended, but the beautiful frames and their contrast to his violent ways lull viewers into a sense of safety as they’re entranced by the film’s atmosphere.
Pusher II
Pusher II is a Danish crime film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, released in 2004. It follows Tonny, recently out of prison, as he struggles to redefine his life amidst the challenges of the Copenhagen underworld, dealing with family expectations and the criminal environment surrounding him.
Refn’s second film in thePushertrilogy is arguably his Magnum Opus, a showcase of his skills as a filmmaker adept at capturing the eternal dance of humanity and morality as the two stay locked in a tug-of-war over a person’s actions. No, it doesn’t have the polish or the stylish visual aesthetic ofDrive, butRefn’s raw guerrilla filmmaking inPusher IIis ideal for the storyat hand. It gives him the space to ruminate on the themes that characterize his filmography, without beautifying the story when not necessary.
Among Mads Mikkelsen’s best movies and TV shows isPusher II.
AmongMads Mikkelsen’s best movies and TV showsisPusher II, where he plays the protagonist, his character from the previous film, who has been released from prison and wants to change his ways. The film depicts his wish to transform his life as an impossible challenge that he is incapable of overcoming.Nicolas Winding Refnis highly capable of blurring the lines of morality as he manages to make viewers root for a despicable character.Pusher IIis an incredible achievement in filmmaking, as it uses close-up cinematography to make audiences uncomfortable of Mikkelsen’s very presence.
