we're in a field, then we're moving, through cities, traffic, back through nature, in crowds, front of crowds, all blurred and hasty
then we're on a stage. from the moment we step on the stage, though, we're suddenly not the main character anymore. we're watching from behind, as it's harry who mounts the scene
we're the camera now, then switched to the front. first a close-up of his face, which goes from neutral/melancholic to a smile. then we're at a distance again, panning backwards, as the set forms around harry, the house coming upright behind him as the reverse of the stunt done by buster keaton @swimmingleo. the scene is set, we're there to watch the play
the audio of this video is reversed, so if you put the audio right, we get the opposite story credits to @bluewinnerangel
the house does fall around him, like the original buster keaton scene, then he goes off stage, goes through the motions of a chaotic life, to end in a peaceful field among the flowers
the buster keaton stunt was pulled off back in 1928 by keaton nailing himself to the ground so he'd survive the move, so you can read into that
the movie where the scene takes place is steamboat bill jr. summarised amazingly by @vlnylstyles here which, in short, is about a father struggling to accept his son, bill jr, bc he's not a Strong Manly Man like him - he's an academic and he's sensitive. after getting into a lot of shit, bc bill sr. doesn't accept jr.'s help, the facade comes crashing down. in the end, bill jr. saves everyone, and finds love, while also staying true to himself
and as if this all wasn't enough, with the literal facade lifting up/coming down around harry, he's put the whole thing on a stage. he's dressed like a doll thank you @caralara on a stage in front of a house - a doll's house. which is a play by ibsen, coincidentally played in the theatre harry chose for this trailer, thank you @thestylinsons. it's a play about a woman, nora, who, at first sight, seems to be leading the perfect family life, married with two children. little by little, though, it becomes clear that nora has secrets, and that her life isn't as perfect as it seems. she has these secrets to help her family and husband, though, who she has this dedication for that makes her go as far as breaking the law. it's a harsh wake-up call for her, then, when her husband makes it clear that he doesn't want her help. he just wants her to be the perfect, docile wife. in the end, which was a shock in the 1800s, nora leaves him.
here a beautiful quote from @infinitelymint who explained it perfectly: "This is what leads her to part with her former life - she realises that she’s just been a doll in a doll’s house for others to play with, and famously says to her husband that “You have never loved me. You have only thought it pleasant to be in love with me.” - like she sort of realises that she was never seen as an actual person but more like an accessory to him, that he never knew the real her and that he definitely never loved the real her (she isn’t even sure who she really is herself - but she puts herself before her husband and children to go out into the world to figure it out)."
SO. what am i saying?
he's only a person with agency when he's off that stage. on stage, he's a doll in a dollhouse doing stunts, the facade is up. he stays still and goes through the motions while he's also out-of-body, an onlooker of his fake life. he's living what appears to be the picture-perfect life but actually has many secrets. who he really is wouldn't be accepted as readily as the image others have (the first image of nora/the ideal bill sr. holds for his son). people don't love him, they love the idea of him.
will the facade come down like buster keaton's? will the real harry be revealed as he steps away from an inauthentic life? will he be the hero of the story as he stays true to himself? will he hurt us terribly by constantly alluding to the fact that the facade is still up and the charade isn't over and he's stuck up on that stage for another while?
since there's a lot of prev tagging let me just add it under the post:
screams in its both. We're looking at him both angles. He's showing us both the in your face playout (1) as well as another layer (reverse,2). 1: We see the quiet nature and home (birth and/or quarantine times would be on the nose interpretations for me) moving into chaos that is performer / city life move into -RAINBOW JUMPSCARE- him stepping ON stage and putting a smile ON his face and his walls going UP. But SIMULTANEOUSLY IN THE SAME WORK we see the reverse. 2: We see him on stage with his walls coming down and the fake smile wiped off and him stepping away moving out of view.. then we get the chaos and THEN it ends with peace and home. Hes both showing us the stage performer AND himself, and we're lead to seeing the reverse by his song snippet being in reverse. Only if you're willing to look deeper (I mean not very deep but a smol step beyond GP casual watcher that doesn't really care to look into what harry's about yk) you see the other side? I mean that's so on point? Man I'm fking mindblown by his genius tbh, and even if I'm just reading into this and that wasn't his intent it's still a beautiful take I'm gonna sit on like that big balloon egg xoxo