Lana and Misty's storyline absorbs the viewer and the choice of darker scenes juxtaposed with bright colourful ones makes this a aesthetically pleasing music video.
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Lana Del Rey’s music video for her new song ‘Freak’ (from her 2015 album Honeymoon) takes us through the mist into a hypnotic and bright universe.
The music video features singer Father John Misty, a critically acclaimed artist in his own right and a nice surprise addition to the video. ‘Freak’ brims with opiate abuse and sexual undertones. In true Lana Del Rey style, the music video runs well over the normal time a music video usually lasts, taking just over ten minutes. Most of that footage is peculiarly added after the audio and after the part with Lana and Misty ends. The footage displays two women submerged and dancing in water against classical music.
The part with Lana and Misty in turn is a blend of dark, mysterious shots juxtaposed with dream-like ones, which makes for an interesting and enthralling visual experience. Lana takes us on a mysterious and self-indulgent ride throughout the video. Mysterious in the sense that the relationship between Lana and Father John Misty is very much an enigma. At times he looks like her lover, at others possibly a cult leader leading her down a dangerous path. He is often seen walking behind Lana, or gesturing to a crowd or someone who we cannot see. His omniscient presence is creepiest when Lana appears to be sat alone in a dark room. However, upon further inspection he is sat behind her a few feet away in the corner. Shots of a taxidermy owl and a bear rug add to the eerie feel of the video at times.
The other half of the video is quite simple: Lana and Misty and the women surrounding Misty are taking a hallucinogenic drug. As Lana places a thin square of pink paper on Father John Misty’s tongue, everything instantly becomes more saturated. Lana also seems to share in the drug-induced trance as she sips a pink liquid out of her cup with her eyes closed. The hypnagogic scenes are filled with sparkles, vibrant colours and has Misty constantly sharing the company of women dressed in white. Shots of both of them enjoying the sun in some kind of meadow are also very aesthetically pleasing. Overall, it is a great video and it greatly compliments the seductive, at times melancholic song ‘Freak’ and the visual dimension aids the viewers to immerse themselves in the song.
‘Freak’ is out now via Interscope Records and the music video is available to watch below.
