Taylor is back and better than ever, this time with full ownership and a short film.
‘All too well’ was originally released in 2012 as a 5 minutes and 28 seconds song, this came soon after the singers break with actor Jake Gyllenhaal when Swift was only 20.
Now, at 31, Swift has released a re-recording of her album ‘Red’ . The album includes a 10-minute version of the critically acclaimed single ‘All too Well’ which was released to YouTube as a short film on the 12th of November 2021.
The film is starring Sadie Sink as young Taylor, and Dylan Obrien as her boyfriend, who fans speculate to be Jake Gyllenhaal.
The short film, directed by Taylor swift herself, reflects on how context and time have transformed her and how she now views her relationship with Gyllenhaal as an adult.
The re-recording comes as Swift gained back ownership of her work from her previous record label ‘Big Machine Records’, owned by Scooter Braun.
The short film depicts the age gap between Swift and her lover, the subtle but deadly effects of gaslighting and serious down falls when it comes to relationships.
The film includes different mini acts split into multiple scenes portraying the honeymoon period to the breaking point, and the realisation of being fooled by someone you really loved.
The first scene is the ‘Upstate escape’, the lovers are seen wandering through a forest hand in hand, smiling, laughing, kissing, as the watcher you are fooled.
It then goes to ‘The first crack in the glass’. When we see him drop her hand, we don’t see a massive issue, however the expression on Sinks face says it all, it really portrays the look of betrayal and rejection.
Swift sings “you were tossing me the car keys, fuck the patriarchy” this is the definition of patriarchy, he is throwing her the keys to let her drive, as if he is doing such a gentleman thing, when really it is patronising.
The music stops and the two actors begin to argue, this would not work if it was the only released version of the song as hearing speaking halfway through your music is not enjoyable, however because there is a released version which is solely a song with no film or acting; you get the best of both worlds.
The title ‘are you real?’ appears and all their happy memories play. ‘Are you real?’ Swift as the director includes are you real, to show that Sinks intuition to second guess O’Brien’s actions was correct. it was too good to be true, he was acting.
Then it takes us to the ‘The Breaking Point’, another argument happens, there are no words but the. watchers understand what is going on, for young Taylor it’s like drawing blood out of a stone, O’Brien gives her nothing, whilst she gives him everything.
Which is a direct relatability to everyone who has been in a failed relationship, especially the younger generations. The short film is aimed to make those who have been heartbroken to feel less alone. It has done so extremely well.
“Well, you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest”. When somebody uses honesty as an excuse to say something rude. A clever play on words as anyone can relate to this, not just the young or the heartbroken.
The next part is ‘The reeling’ and ‘the remembering’ is the 5th stage.
In one scene, young Taylor Swift naively holds her drink above the stem of the glass whilst her older peers drink their champagne in the correct way. This represents her innocence, her less experienced self and how out of place she feels.
Again, proving how young she is compared to him.
The lyric states “I’ll get older, but your lovers will stay my age” this is a dig at Jake Gyllenhaal and how she has moved on, but he never will, showing there is resentment that lingers to the age gap.
Sadie Sinks who plays young Taylor is now Taylor swift 13 years later, who has accomplished all that she wanted, she has written a book called ‘All too well’. Proving that Swifts gift of storytelling has been brought to life once again, not only through a song but through directing a movie.
The ending foreshadows her real-life achievements.
This short film.
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