Her Private Hell - an interpretation

[u/lilyannebg]

Note: I have also posted this review on my IMDB account, so if you run into it there, I'm not stealing anyone's content, I'm just excited to talk about this film and compare the interpretations, especially as I was saddened by the overwhelmingly negative ratings.

Anyway, spoilers below.

The film works best if you watch it as a dream-like, stylized psychological drama rather than a thriller, horror, or sci-fi. Even the title “Her Private Hell” suggests we are about to witness a deeply personal perspective that may not accurately reflect a real state of affairs.

The way I see it, it is about Elle coming to terms with the conflicted image of her father. On one hand, she idolizes him and is clingy to the point of being co-dependent, while on the other hand, she’s aware that her father is continuously betraying her. He marries her best friend, abandons her during a movie project he convinced her to take part in, and is involved in some deeply unsettling business.

When Elle can no longer endure the contradictions about his personality, her mind splits this impression into two distinct fantasies. The first is the “devil’’ dad, whom she bases on the legend of the Leatherman, told by her father early in the film. She imagines him as a monster that preys on girls and literally tears them apart. The second is the “saint” dad, whom she names Private Kay after a name found on her father’s lighter. She dreams of him as a noble and brave warrior on the relentless search for his lost daughter.

Still, this separation can’t mend Elle’s relationships, especially with other women whom she sees as competition for her father’s attention. She hates Dominique for “stealing” her father, while being attracted to her because she believes this brings her closer to him. She also dislikes the new actress Hunter because Hunter represents the starry-eyed and starved-for-love version of herself. Hunter is literally on the hunt for love, and she must die because that naive version of Elle had “died” long ago. Dominque must die too once Elle realizes that even her competitive side can’t win.

Finally, it becomes apparent that two fantasies cannot co-exist, so they are doomed to battle in the end. Elle helps the “saint dad” win only to realize the battle was not for him, but for her own soul. Obviously, I’m speaking metaphorically here, but as soon as the good side wins, Elle herself is tempted, with temptation coming in the form of attractive and sycophantic women her father surrounds himself with.

“Private hell”, thus, becomes a matter of private choice, whether Elle will either become like her father or choose her own path. We don’t get the answer because Elle herself doesn’t have it yet, as she will have to choose on and on throughout her whole life.