Of course there's beauty to be found amidst the wreckage of Detroit. And an amazing and giving spirit, as you'll see if you don't to jump to conclusions too early in this inspirational video.
Palisades Park is long gone. The last amusement ride was in 1971, with that prime real estate along the Hudson going to condominiums. Closest you can get to that old vibe is Coney Island, which still clings on with that faded carnival spirit. And Coney Island is where we start in this portraiture tribue to all the dreamers, the wannabes, the failures, the disasters and the survivors in the rock 'n' roll carnival.
As a wise man once said to a girl named Sandy, "this boardwalk life for me is through, you kmow you ought to quit this scene too"...
Bruce Springsteen's modern music video work has largely been small stakes: Simple performance videos. A smart move in some ways — he is, after all, the greatest living rock performer, and let's face it: Do we really want to see The Boss do a one-take treadmill routine? But, there's also Springsteen's storytelling side, which has remained unexplored for a long time now...
"Hunter Of Invisible Game" is a huge step in that visual narrative direction, with Springsteen comfortably collaborating with longtime video cohort Thom Zimny on an enigmatic 10 minute short film. And seeing as how Zimny came to the Springsteen camp on the heels of his work as editor on The Wire — aka the best TV drama ever? — it's nice to see him get a chance to deliver something other than a performance or a documentary.
But if you like to play "what if"... What if these two widen the circle to include some past Springsteen video directors — John Sayles, Brian DePalma, Jonathan Demme, Meiert Avis, and Mark Pellington — or a new generation of film/video directors to interpret and bring other songs/stories to visual life?
Boy, these ladies sure are growing up fast. 5H get tough and super-confident (even name-dropping FLOTUS) in this slick new performance piece, which also marks the start of a social media campaign partnership with dosomething.org to help young people (especially girls) with self-esteem and confidence issues.
Real life collides with this video as Lauren Capulet and Ricki Hall star as a couple that's able to stay hot and heavy for a few laps around the track before cracking apart... And if gossip rags are to be trusted [hah] then Capulet and Hall are an actual couple who are perhaps also cracking apart — except instead of Kill It Kid singer Chris Turpin in the backseat, the rumor mill has Kelly Osbourne as the allegedly actual third wheel...
It's OK if it takes you a couple minutes to realize this is genius. And it helps to know the backstory, although figuring it out youself is probably more fun. And the song is called "Figure It Out" after all...
But, if you're the type who loves a spoiler, here ya go:
Director Ninian Doff creates a nifty hidden image trick thanks to a specal blue/red filter placed in front of the lens. Yes, it bathes all the footage in either red or blue, but more importantly: The filter only reveals certain colors. Think of it like old-fashioned red/cyan anaglyph glasses, except instead of creating the illusion of 3D, Doff is revealing hidden messages and images. It's the same gag you've seen in various red reveal tricks you've seen in board games and elsewhere, but transported to video.
Oh, and by the way: You'll notice the video starts with a Parental Advisory warning. So, don't get too distracted by the tricks, otherwise you might forget to miss out on the bloody narrative fun.
It's clear that won't be a happy ending to this tale of a love triangle between Lauren Henson aka Indiana and two drug-dealing motorcycle dudes. But, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to guess the twist.
PS: And yes, Twilight fans: That's actor Charlie Bewey, who was also in the TV shows Nashville and The Vampire Diaries.
