Martha Wainwright - When The Day is Short
Directed by Sara Mishara
Blah. Had some nice shots here and there, but pretty dang bland overall.
You know I'd have to say that I disagree. Martha is one of those artists who can get labeled and is suffering for it and to be honest....IT SUCKS! I think for a first video- on a rather small/almost indie label it's a good video. I've never found Martha to have the artistic bent/ overtly stylized concepts that some of these bands like broken social scene/the bravery/ maximo park/interpol have. She is about the music first and foremost. Go and see her live- she is a hell of a performer. Heck when she was on Letterman- Dave nearly crapped himself and I'd guess he has seen enough bands/artists to be pretty damned jadded.
Uninspiring. What I can make from the film is that Martha is a tourist in London. And that’s about it. The song itself doesn’t really pep up until 3/4 of the way through but the promo fails to capitalise on that moment: we have some lazy fuzzy shots and her rolling around on a table, then end feels like the whole production team have fallen asleep. As for busking in Old Street tube: Ha! She’d have to fight off the alcoholics after wading through the lakes of piss first. Made me laugh (but not in a good way).
How is she about the music first and foremost, when her video has her dressed up in wigs and sailor suits and as a burlesque dancer? Seems to me, if your argument held up, it'd be a simple performance video, which I think I'd much rather prefer. Now it just looks like a "hey, let's dress her up all artsy and make this wacky, crazy video! yeah!" type of thing. Just looks like a video that didn't have any ideas going in.
Well, I think she just wanted to have a little fun while making the video so she dressed up in drag and had a great time. She looks like she's really enjoying herself. and yeah, the Letterman performance was fantastic.
1manguy - you are totally right! It was her first video ever. Why not play dress up. Her label is so small that they got funding thru the canadian art grants. anyone who knows martha's personality can see why she chose to play dress up.
