Director Ben Wheatley’s latest feature, High-Rise is a complex dystopian adaptation of J.G. Ballard, brimming with sex, cigarettes, and some killer music numbers (read our review). One particularly memorable sequence features Portishead‘s cover of ABBA’s “SOS,” which was previously only available if you watched the film, but has now been given a music video.
The black and white one-take steadily pushes in on singer Beth Gibbons, seated in an all-black room with her head down. The sporadic beat is contained by her even, somber vocal delivery and the song’s deep synth tones that make for a captivating listen. The video adds another dimension to the song, with flashes of light turning Gibbons’ face into a haunting mask before returning to normalcy. In its final moments, quotes Jo Cox, a British Labour Party politician who was murdered last week.
See the video below, along with our discussion of High-Rise, if you missed it.