‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ Review: Glamour, Ghosts, And Aliens In Copenhagen
The voice of an author is certainly one of the most interesting things one can find in a piece of art. Sometimes, that is all that can really make the difference between calling something “content” or “art.” This is why it is so strange to find voices missing from some of the most important and relevant films released every year. Instead, studios have chosen the committee approach, where singular voices get silenced and replaced by an overall consensus. Nicolas Winding Refn is certainly a voice, and Netflix brings us his latest work in the form of a six-episode series. Copenhagen Cowboy.
The film now turned into a series containing six episodes is developed by Nicolas Winding Refn, alongside Sara Isabella Johnson. Refn directs each episode and also collaborates in the writing process. The series stars Angela Bundalovic, Fleur Frilund, Lola Corfixen, Zlatko Buric, Jason Hendil-Forssell, Valentina Dejanovic, and Li li Zhang. The series follows the story of Miu, a strange and mysterious young woman in search of revenge, through the city of Copenhagen. The quest will take her to the underground of the city, where the natural and supernatural mix.
Nicolas Winding Refn is certainly a voice in cinema. His films and now TV series work on a level that is pretty much different from anything else being done right now in the medium. This is the result of the director developing his own style and voice over many years. Refn knows what he wants from an aesthetic and narrative point of view, and he delivers exactly what he wants to deliver. This uncompromising attachment to his own style has won him fans who share his taste in art but has also alienated him from capturing the attention of a wider audience.
However, it seems that Netflix has given him the freedom to once again do exactly what he wants to do. The result is a Nicolas Winding Refn distilled story that goes into the weird, the violent, and the beautiful in the blink of an eye, exactly as he likes it. Copenhagen Cowboy will definitely not be a piece of art that can be appreciated by many people. Most audiences will find it slow, confusing, and boring. On the other hand, those wanting more Nicolas Winding Refn will get it for sure in this series.
As is usual with Refn’s films, the visuals are on point. Everything seems to be looked at through the lens of a fashion or perfume commercial. The cinematography, by Magnus Nordenhof Jonck, captures the essence of the mystery and creates an atmosphere that is hard to beat. Copenhagen Cowboy’s visual range stays somewhat between a dream and a nightmare, and as the story progresses to its conclusion, the examples lean more and more toward the latter.
The music by Cliff Martinez also keeps Refn’s brand on point. The musical landscapes can go from a beautiful tune that announces peace, love, and tenderness, and then transform into something horrible, that keeps the anxiety rising and the mind alert. The score has been one of the most fundamental pillars of Refn’s filmmaking style, and it is no less true here in Copenhagen Cowboy. Refn compares love to an act of violence, and it is that contrast that he is looking for when creating images and sounds that can simply explode and die, sometimes in a single frame.
The same thing happens with the performances. Refn’s movies often lack characters that feel like real people. This is great; most directors and writers think that getting closer to reality is the best way to make “good art” as real as possible. Refn’s characters go the opposite way; they have feelings, motivations, and dreams, but at the same time, they reveal nothing, especially his protagonists. Bundalovic’s Miu in this case is just as stoic as Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive, and no less effective for that. Her looks and the way she moves are enough to grab you and follow her journey.
The performances are great, though, and creating characters that can grab your attention and feel meaningful without having to lean on speeches or heavy dialogue is a hard task. The same goes for a plot that feels confusing at first, especially as the fantastical elements of the story just happen without any sort of explanation. You have to be a participant in the story and connect the dots, the series will not do it for you. Nobody is going to stop the story to explain who these characters are and what they can do.
The show is gorgeous to look at and fascinating to follow, and yet, it falls into the same pit as Refn’s latest effort when it comes to finding a satisfying conclusion. Too Old to Die Young simply ended with the promise of something for the future, maybe expecting a second season, but it didn’t materialize. Refn seems to be avoiding this by giving the show a no-ending that could be found hilarious to some, but will certainly leave others scratching their heads.
Copenhagen Cowboy is a good start for Netflix in 2023. This is the kind of material they should be bringing to their streaming platform. Let the artists tell the stories they want to tell, and people will want to watch them. It is always great to end up making a show like Squid Game or Stranger Things but to keep the different groups of audiences engaged, you will need more than just the same dish served over and over again. Copenhagen Cowboy is flawed, for sure, but it is also the most interesting piece of filmmaking you will watch this week.