Lana Del Rey shows us
her Sapphic side in new video for the fifth single from her debut
album Born To Die. The Summertime Sadness video, shot in her
preferred dreamy, hipster-as-you-like film noir style, features Del
Rey as herself and actress Jaime King, wife of director Kyle
Newman, as her lover.
The promo cuts between happy scenes of domestic bliss, and darker,
more emotional shots, depicting arguments, tears and sadness, mixed
with extra scenes depicting Del Ray hugging a St Bernard dog and a
lot of her trademark pouting.
But clearly for the couple, the intense nature of the relationship
proves too much to bear. The video culminates in a tragic end for
both women, as they appear to take their own lives by jumping off a
bridge.
Perhaps this apparent lesbian suicide pact didn't go to plan, (I
like to think of it as an eerie glimmer of reconciliation), but the
end of the video shows Del Rey walking back along the bridge,
whilst a ghostly figure appears and then disappears beside
her.
Why Lana chose this theme for the video remains unclear, but since
an awful lot of lesbian couples in popular culture end up victims
of some tragic demise it could be considered a little
clichéd.
The fact that there isn't a kiss helps to avoid the video coming
across as a publicity stunt (especially since all evidence points
to Del Rey being straight), although it does leave open the chance
that maybe they're 'just friends,' the video playing out as a more
subdued tribute to Thelma and Louise, in which they kill
themselves, rather than the bad guy.
But what do you think? Tell us by tweeting @DIVAmagazine or
posting by posting below.
The single Summertime Sadness is out now. Fans of Lana's style
will also be glad to know that she has just signed a contract with
H&M to be the face of their
new collection, which will launch in September.
