‘Copenhagen Cowboy: Nightcall With Nicolas Winding Refn’ Review: An Amalgamation Of Fantasy, & Horror

Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Copenhagen Cowboy” is the story of a girl who undergoes various transformations to gain supernatural and physical abilities. It is a 2023 Danish series on Netflix that will hook viewers till the very end with an intriguing concept of vengeance. The first season provides a glimpse toward the life of Miu, who was described to be a luck bearer in the entire series. Despite all the struggle, she negotiates her way into the lives of such people, delving into their greed and pain. Nicolas came up with his version of the story, providing a glimpse into the making of “Copenhagen Cowboy.” The documentary began with the actors of this show as they described their perspective on this show. Every episode is adorned with colors and lighting, which makes it look spooky and captivating at the same time. The fairy tale aspect of Copenhagen Cowboy takes a distinctive approach toward its viewers. Firstly, Nicolas planned on expanding upon one of his popular film series, “The Pusher Trilogy,” as it highlights the deadly world of Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, the writers Johanne Algren and Sara Isabella Jonsson revealed that Miu had a different outlook on Copenhagen, and Nicolas wanted to project that outlook through Miu’s perspective of the underworld. Nicolas and the writers brought in the concept of Fairytale, which included Greek Mythology and the stories of Shakespeare. Every episode showed Miu’s purpose in being a part of this world. She was born to acquire something and to create the fateful change as she could fulfill other’s wishes. 

Once the title was decided upon, Nicolas began to look for the right character to represent Miu’s role. The title had contrasting elements since Copenhagen and Cowboy both represent different cultures. But this, in turn, became one of its most attractive parts. Nicolas wanted to change the typical superhero genre into something that captivated its viewers, especially children. Nicolas knew choosing Miu as the lead character would be essential since she promotes women’s empowerment. To make Miu, he blended the characters of his previous movies, and it worked out pretty well. Apart from this, many writers believe that women superheroes are important in this genre. People tend to underestimate women’s thoughts, but men don’t face such an evaluation. The creators of this series wanted to challenge the limitations that people believed were enough to break down a woman’s will to fight and survive. They explored different sides of a woman’s personality; Nicolas always addressed Miu as the cowboy. Miu lacks emotions, as her character always displays the same expression throughout the whole series. This was one of the most important aspects of understanding Miu’s nature in general. Her blank face made it difficult for people to guess her next move

Well, even though Miu had been physically present everywhere, her mind often drifted to another world. Nicolas had been a superstitious person, and he introduced this part of his personality into his story. So, in the finale of Copenhagen Cowboy episode 8, Rakel gains the powers of her mother. He further clarified that he chose his characters according to the Pusher Trilogy, and Nicolas knew that every character differed from each other, yet Nicolas managed to maintain their realness. These characters were mixed in with a blend of fairy tales, as Nicolas always guided his characters accordingly. He would choreograph the fighting scenes to make them more realistic because this helped the actors keep their calm. Soon, these actors found their true purpose in acting and originality in their acting skills. Jason Hendil Forssell, aka Chiang, shared how he struggled to survive as he spent more than 14 years on the street. Every day, his clothes were ripped, and his face would be completely bruised. Jason found a new reason to exercise every day, and this way, he’s becoming healthy again. He had been humble all his life, and the moment Nicolas met him, he understood that Jason was born to be an actor. Copenhagen Cowboy gave a new chance to everyone since these were actors with real-life experiences.

When things messed up a little, these actors would help the makers to understand the best possibility for this scene. Some of them had to undergo practice sessions to brush up on their acting skills. Nicolas believed that people with raw talent might change the whole aspect of the story. Nicolas had been a very experienced filmmaker, and all his attributes combined in a series of unexpected results. Moreover, all the characters found Nicolas to be very supportive. Many objects were added to the series, and then later, Nicolas would include them in the story. Surprisingly, Lola Corfixen, aka Rakel, was a character that was indirectly selected in the series; Nicolas just randomly approached Lola to act out Rakel’s lines, and she delivered all the dialogues with utmost clarity. Soon, she agreed to this role, and Nicolas completed his vision to create a rebellious version of Rakel’s character.

Also, Nicolas had been addicted to fashion, and he used these fashionable elements as a way of reflecting the characters’ personality. More interesting details were revealed in the show, which provided a backstory to Miu’s development. Miu’s character was inspired by Joan of Arc, as she wore armor and kept her hair short. Nonetheless, Nicolas is a magnificent director, and his mind never stops working. He would often listen to music and watch movies to get more ideas. Music helped him to capture a scene in his mind. He had segregated his music taste as per the scenes, and in every scene, Nicolas had a different song planned. Through Nicolas, many other actors began to do the same, and when things got tough, they chose music as a means to stop it. Once the script is done, Nicolas doesn’t pay attention to it, as he wants to understand what people perceive from his story.


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Raschi Acharya
Raschi Acharya
Raschi Acharya is a Mass Media graduate and she is currently working and living in Mumbai. From a very young age, Raschi was heavily interested in reading and writing. She prefers to write everything that her mind nurtures her to do as shaping up her imagination is her forte!

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