The English Songstress Performs a Tale of American Heartbreak in Vincent Haycock's New Video
A relationship falls apart in the desert towns and
fog-soaked coast of California as the baroque pop chanteuse and Karl
Lagerfeld and Gucci muse Florence Welch
takes on a cinematic role in this second collaboration with LA-based
director Vincent Haycock. After helming the narrative music video for
Welch’s Calvin Harris-produced disco hit “Sweet Nothing”, Haycock wanted
to further explore singer’s interest in acting in his film for “Lover
to Lover”, the latest single from her hit sophomore album Ceremonials.
“She wasn’t just Florence, she was playing a character,” he says. “It
was exciting to take someone who’s built such an iconic visual style,
with the floaty dresses and distinct look of her videos, and do
something really different.” Performing opposite Australian actor Ben
Mendelsohn, who stars alongside Brad Pitt in the forthcoming flick, Killing Them Softly,
Welch's on-screen interpretation echoes the track’s heart-aching
refrain, “There’s no salvation for me now.” Beginning in a drab Los
Angeles house and building to a cathartic gospel frenzy, the romance
ends as the lovesick heroine disappears amid mist into the Pacific
Ocean. “The waves were enormous, it was freezing cold and four in the
morning—I was weeping all the way in I was so scared,” recounts the MTV
Award-winning singer, laughing. “It was the most intense experience
because we shot the whole day before; I went back to the hotel, slept
for three hours, woke up and dove into the sea.”
More: Nowness.
