“Cinema” by Harry Styles, Monday, October 23, 2023

 

Harry Styles made his film debut in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 World War II film, Dunkirk. It was a small role as a soldier, but it wasn’t the last time Styles would touch the silver screen. Last year, Harry starred in two films, the romantic thriller Don’t Worry Darling and the gay romantic historical fiction My Policeman based on the novel by Bethan Roberts. In Don’t Worry Darling, Styles starred as a lead actor, his character Jack married to Florence Plough’s Alice. The film was directed by Olivia Wilde, who also appears as a main character, Bunny. The film reviewed poorly, with a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes.

DARLING, IS IT COOL IF I’M STUBBORN WHEN IT COMES TO THIS? While the Austin Chronicle may have called Don’t Worry Darling “a swing and a miss,” the film generated a lot of media attention due to Shia LaBeouf's firing from the role of Jack, for which Harry Styles took the role; alleged screaming matches director/actress Olivia Wilde and lead actress Florence Plough; and a relationship that developed between Wilde and Styles. Olivia is ten years older than Harry, and prior to beginning a relationship with Styles, Wilde had ended an engagement with comedian Jason Sudeikis. The Saturday Night Live alum infamously served Olivia Wilde custody papers in 2022 while she was on stage presenting Don’t Worry Darling at CinemaCon. At the time, Wilde and Styles were a hot item. Don’t Worry Darling was about to hit theaters and Harry Styles’ third record, Harry’s House was about to be released, all the while “As It Was” was becoming Harry Styles’ biggest song to date. 

IF YOU’RE GETTING YOURSELF WET FOR ME. Harry Styles’ latest album, Harry’s House starts off light, airy, and sexy before getting downright melancholy. The pandemic and introspection seem to be part of the source of the darkness as it caused the singer to deal with issues of substances, loneliness, sex, and love. But the brightness of the album seems to come from a new relationship with actor/director Olivia Wilde. The distinctively uncolorful album cover for Harry’s House sets a tone for the seemingly bland album. While I don’t personally experience a level of synesthesia, I think of the beginning tracks “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “Late Night Talking” as white in tone, and “As It Was” as more of a light gray and “Matilda” as a darker gray. The album repeats these colors at the beginning and end, but in the middle, there are two bright songs: “Cinema” and “Daydreaming.” These disco-infused tracks are so different from the rest of the record and without the randomness in the opener “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” the eighth and ninth tracks would feel completely out of place on the record. “Cinema” is clearly about Olivia Wilde and Styles’ new relationship. The subtle sexual innuendo is hidden under the smoothness of the music. Both tracks feel like a short burst of summer sunlight before the clouds come back on the rest of the album goes back to its overcast status quo.

Lyric video:

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Read the lyrics on Genius.