Taylor Swift has kicked off her new era with a cinematic flair, releasing the music video for “Fortnight” that reunites former Dead Poets Society castmates Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles over three decades after the film’s release.
The black-and-white video for the lead single off Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department sees the singer playing a subject of experimentation following a failed romance. In the metaphor-laden visuals, Hawke and Charles portray scientists studying Swift’s heartbroken character.
“I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets),” Swift wrote on Instagram, acknowledging the 1989 film that earned Hawke and Charles acclaim as schoolboys under the tutelage of their inspirational English teacher.
The video opens with Swift chained to a bed in an observation room before cutting to scenes of her alongside featured artist Post Malone in an office setting, singing melancholic lyrics like “And for a fortnight there we were forever running to you / Sometimes ask about the weather / Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors / Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her.”
As the visuals progress, Swift is strapped to a gurney with an electrical device attached to her head, studied by Hawke and Charles’ scientist characters in a nod to the video’s twisted narrative. Ultimately, she breaks free from her constraints, with the video climaxing in a rainstorm as she reaches out to Malone.
The video has already amassed over 10 million views on YouTube in just 9 hours since its release on Friday. Fans have praised Swift’s bold creative direction and the nostalgic reunion of Hawke and Charles, 35 years after their memorable performances in Dead Poets Society.
With “Fortnight” setting the tone, The Tortured Poets Department has achieved another streaming milestone for Swift, becoming Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day and breaking records she previously set with Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The singer also surprised fans by dropping The Anthology, a 15-track companion album.
As she kicks off this new musical chapter, Swift has once again demonstrated her ability to blend compelling visuals with introspective lyricism, leaving fans eagerly anticipating what other poetic storytelling awaits on The Tortured Poets Department.
