“It’s like you’re screaming, and no one can hear. You almost feel ashamed, that someone could be that important that without them you feel like nothing. No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. And when it’s over, and it’s gone, you almost wish that you could have all that bad stuff back, so that you could have the good.”
These are the very words narrating the opening scenes of what may be Rihanna’s most honest, reflective and captivating music video ever; We Found Love. The song in itself does not make half as much sense till you’ve seen the video, and best believe me you’ll be so glued to your screen, that even blinking will be at your own risk. See the difference between this video and every single one before this, is that for the first time she painted something so real to her; so real to all of us. And until now, we can finally say that we “get it”…
The opening scene switches between Rihanna standing alone by a window; staring out and then switches to her with blue-eyed boyfriend Dudley O’Shaughnessy. The moment captured with him is one of those tension-filled scenes with the two sitting on opposite ends of the bath-tub, what almost looks like they’re both catching their breath after a fight. Flashbacks of the couple show two love birds, passionately caught up in eachother’s space. There’s a scene of them kissing which reminded me of a scene from Romeo and Juliet (the movie); specifically the camera angles and almost slow-motion shots, both of them so locked in eachother’s embrace that nothing in the world and no one around them mattered. And then further shots of them alone; him on an open road, and her in an open field, perfectly edited with the narration “No one will ever understand how much it hurts.” The scene changes back to the bath-tub where she finds herself lying on his chest, reminiscent of that place of comfort, despite the chaos of whatever’s going on.
What follows is a second per scene shot of a love so magical, so captivating, that for the first time she’s able to share it with the world in its most unfiltered, purest form. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a Chris Brown tribute. And in my opinion this video is in no way as a means of feeding the media with tit-bits that will give them ammunition to further scrutinize their break-up post the assault in 2009, but she pays homage to the man she fell in love with; the man who obviously still has her heart. And THAT is something we all can relate to.
Lightning strikes as Rihanna can be seen in the corner of her bedroom. The scenes change as you see that young love come out in both her and her leading man, O’Shaughnessy. The footage shows her on the back of a bicycle holding on to him for dear life and he pedals away, but with so much comfort. There’s a shot of him holding her hand as she balances on a skateboard. You can see shots of them kissing, and walking away from the camera; his arm around her shoulder. Everything about the body language between the two is so natural and real. You don’t see Rihanna the superstar, you see a girl who’s in love. Like that’s what their love was.
“Yellow diamonds in the light, and we’re standing side by side.” Taking us back to that wide open field, you see Rihanna and Dudley away from the outside world. He watches her as she runs around, free almost, and then in a passionate embrace she straddles him in the car, scenes of them kissing; so much emotions and an obvious connection between the two. With flashes of RiRi singing “As your shadow crosses mine, what it takes to come alive,” from her bedroom, more shots of her sitting in the middle of fireworks as they’re being set off. Sipping a beer, watching her boyfriend set the sky on fire. And more kissing. You know those passionate love affairs where you just can’t get enough of the other person? THIS was it!
“It’s the way I’m feeling I just can’t deny, but I’ve gotta let it go.” The inside of her bedroom wall looks like a projector shone the textures of the sky on it. Like Rihanna was on top of the clouds with this love. And as sexy as ever, her dominatrix style is toned down, like she’s someone’s girl now, and she keeps it sexy just for him. Not too much but with just the right amount. Another reminder of former love Chris Brown’s character shows in the next scene where the couple is seen fooling around on a skateboard ramp having the time of their lives surrounded by friends. They’re skating, laughing, running after eachother, falling and giggling. Like these are the moments she remembers.
“We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place. We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place.” With the shots in her bedroom wall swiftly changing between flowers and an open field, images so real you want to reach out and touch it just to feel, shots of the couple in a cafe show Rihanna walking across the counter, dancing on the table top like they’re the only two people alive, and then locked in another embrace, seems like a documented account of an evening from the past.
And then, almost as to say if you still don’t get it, flashes of popping pills, kissing, close-ups of an eye with an enlarged pupil, the couple in the bedroom, against the wall, on the bed, undressing eachother like you know what’s about to go down. More pills, fireworks, that turn-up the heat kind of kissing, masses of people walking in different directions, kissing and undressing and fireworks... and then... an outdoor scene with RiRi on Dudley’s back like they’re at a Woodstock type of concert, the Dj’s playing the jams and the crowd is straight up wilding out. Like these were the best of times.
“Shine a light through an open door, love and life I will divide.” Rihanna sings this line from her bedroom emblazoned with the clouds and sky again. The scene changes to her pushing Dudley around in a shopping trolley as they act like kids in the supermarket. You know how you used to shake a can of cola and open it immediately so it squirts like champagne? Yeah that’s it. “Turn away ‘cause I need you more, feel the heartbeat in my mind.” Kissing in the aisles where no one can see and then him pushing her down the road in the trolley. From the look on her face you can see she’s screaming, and the adrenaline is pumping through her veins from the speed he’s going at; so typically boyish in a sense. “It’s the way I’m feeling I just can’t deny, but I’ve gotta let it go.” Shots of her pouting at him and before you know it the light on her bedroom wall has changed from the serene skies to flashing lights. The next scene takes them inside a casino-type of joint where you see them gambling with the machines, losing ... And then **** gets real.
With shots of a mascara-smudged Rihanna throwing darts on a dartboard, and a crashing building as it’s been demolished on the bedroom wall, “We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place. We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place.” And then, like a scene from how it really happened on the day, or as much as we’ll ever know, here’s how it goes down. Dudley’s doing donuts on an open space of tar as RiRi’s making a scene, banging on the dashboard for him to stop. Shots of him drinking beer with his drum-kit in the background, a flash of police lights and the illusive argument breaks down in the car. All up in eachothers’ faces you can feel the tension and only wonder the words being said. So much anger and aggression. Rihanna gets out of the car screaming something before banging the car-door shut. Walking away, Dudley’s left in the car; his demeanour shows his anger. Every bit about his body language is exactly the way you’d picture Chris Brown in that event.
And just like that, taking you from a low to a high, a shot of the couple in happier days fills the screen again. Kissing, holding eachother, Rihanna writing the words “Yours” in the air with one of those sparkly hand firelighters, and like we’re headed for the home stretch, we’re taken back into Rihanna’s bedroom where this time, a house on fire fills her walls. How ironic when that’s what he was really; home to her. The video shows shots of them lighting what looks like four blunts simultaneously, him blowing out the fumes as she inhales it. You can see the sun setting, more of the in love couple kissing, shots of the building still tumbling down from earlier, all over the lyrics “We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place. We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place.”
And like Rihanna overdosed on this drug called love we see her collapsing, and O’Shaughnessy trying to save her, or at least bring her back to consciousness. Flashing lights, a cigarette burning, and Dudley tattooing ‘Mine’ on her booty; there’s that second per scene flashes again, this time of pure destruction minced with passion. Rolling around in bed, an erupting volcano, flashing lights, shots of an argument and Rihanna at breaking point; holding her head in her hands about to explode, more flashes of her screaming, and all this reflecting in close-ups of an eye. And just as you blink we’re back to the car scene as Rihanna walks back to him.
The scenes change again and there’s a shot of him still sitting in the bath; the look on his face is a look you may be familiar with, like you just woke up from a bad dream. And like a scene played back and forth we see her getting back into the car with him. Almost as a symbol of her “going under”, you see Rihanna slipping her head under the water as she’s laying in the bath, trying to get this “drug out of her system there are shots of her puking pink and white strands of stringers along the side of the road, pills jumping up and down, Dudley passed out on the couch, like he’s hanging after a crazy night out, and when Rihanna walks into the room, the chorus rings one last time.
“We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place. We found love in a hopeless place; we found love in a hopeless place.” She walks into a mess of an apartment with her love passed out on the floor alongside the bed, shots of them kissing, and then her grabbing clothes from the drawers, as he grabs her by her leg; trying to stop her from leaving. Visions of her sitting on the floor in her bedroom, her legs bended up against her body, flowers have replaced the burning house and tumbling building, and then in the final shot, she hits his hands with her bag filled with clothes as he holds on to her for dear life; trying to stop her from walking out the door. He loses grip and she walks out, banging the door behind her shut.
The last scene shows Rihanna curled up in the corner of her bedroom once again; this time there’s no lights, no illusions on the wall, nothing. And then, the video fades to black. Kind of like their love.
http://www.thesource.com/articles/97...medium=twitter
