Queer Arts & Entertainment, News for Queer Women

Sophie Thatcher & Havana Rose Liu Are Exes In ‘Her Private Hell’

May 20, 2026

This premise already has fans slapping on the “toxic yuri” label.

Featured image: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this month, and sapphic fans are hardcore latching onto one particular aspect—Sophie Thatcher and Havana Rose Liu playing exes.

By all reports, the actual plot of the movie is a bit convoluted and difficult to describe succinctly. The Letterboxd summary revolves around “a troubled young woman” on a quest to find her father. Deadline‘s post-Cannes review focuses on Elle (Thatcher) making a movie with “a younger influencer type” (Kristine Froseth).

But the plot may not be the point, at least not for sapphic fans. Instead, attention has been drawn to the strange love triangle that serves as a backdrop to the movie: Dominique (Liu) is Elle’s ex-lover. She’s also Elle’s new stepmother.

This sounds like a recipe for either delight or disaster—and based on the early reviews rolling in, the whole movie is likely to be a pretty polarizing viewing. But for those who love weirdness and fictional toxicity, this team up may be a win.

Commenting on viewers who didn’t seem engaged with the movie during its premiere, one Cannes attendee took to Letterboxd to complain, “There’s at least a 100 lesbians who would kill for their seat.”

Another touched on the relatability of such a strange movie, remarking, “My private hell would also be someone pushing me away mid kiss to go makeout with a dude.”

Across other social media platforms, fans still eagerly awaiting Her Private Hell‘s July 24 theatrical release date are hyping up the possibilities.

The last movie Refn directed was 2016’s The Neon Demon, which definitely fits squarely under the category of “polarizing” for a laundry list of reasons, including the infamous lesbian necrophilia scene. Will the reception for Her Private Hell be as divisive? It seems quite possible, but fans chomping at the bit for sapphic representation that colors outside the lines are seated all the same.

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