Eminem – Love The Way You Lie (Music Video Review)
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We get a lot of criticism for being harsh on music videos. The simple fact is that a lot of the videos we review are crap. See Soulja Boy. Just because a band has a video camera and a VEVO account does not give them an excuse to put out terrible videos.
When someone releases a truly great video, we make sure to recognize it.
Eminem’s video for “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna is an incredible video. Pure and simple. Eminem kills it. Rihanna is amazing. Dominic Monaghan is truly frightening. Even Megan Fox pulls her own weight — not by looking hot — but by acting scared and helpless. She does look ridiculously hot though. =)
The video starts with Rihanna singing the hook, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn / But that’s all right because I like the way it hurts / Just gonna stand there and hear me cry / But that’s all right because I love the way you lie / I love the way you lie.”
The lyrics Rihanna sings may be a little close to home for her after last year’s beating from then boyfriend Chris Brown. This may be the reason that it was reported that Eminem thought Rihanna was the only singer to pull it off — and he was right. Not only is her singing filled with pure emotion and drama, the knowledge that she went through a similar situation fills the heart with sorrow.
The video introduces two people in a relationship. The guy is played by Monaghan, most known for his roles as Charlie in LOST and as Merry in the Lord of the Rings; and his girlfriend is played by Fox, most known for Transformers and Maxim cover shoots. If the finale of LOST was true, then Charlie actually made it to heaven since we see him lying in bed with Fox. Note: From now on, we will just call the character in this video by the name of Charlie since he was a tattooed musician and heroin addict in the show and most likely this guy is as well. Plus, Charlie is much easier to write than Monaghan.
The scene makes a quick changeover and we realize that the relationship is not all rosy. Fox sees a phone number on Charlie’s hand, and gets upset. Charlie and Fox get into an argument and Fox spits in Charlie’s face.
Eminem raps, “Where you going / I’m leaving you / No you ain’t / Come back / We’re running right back / Here we go again / It’s so insane / Cause when it’s going good / It’s going great / I’m Superman / With the wind in his bag / She’s Lois Lane / But when it’s bad / It’s awful / I feel so ashamed.”
As the video continues, with Fox and Charlie taking turns beating each other and then making out, the viewer is forced to realize that this must be a common scene with Eminem and his on again off again ex-wife Kim. Even though Slim Shady has rapped about his desire to kill Kim and dump her body into the ocean, this video seems to be a more accurate portrayal of the extreme love/hate relationship Marshall Mathers has with her. The director, Joseph Kahn, told MTV News that the video is not based on Eminem or Rihanna’s incidents with domestic abuse, but no one can deny that the relationship portrayed in the video is one that mirrors everyday abuse cases around the country and most likely has similarities to Eminem’s.
“You ever love somebody so much / You can barely breathe / When you’re with them / You meet / And neither one of you / Even know what hit ‘em / Got that warm fuzzy feeling / Yeah them chills / Used to get ‘em / Now you’re getting fucking sick / Of looking at ‘em / You swore you’d never hit ‘em / Never do nothing to hurt ‘em / Now you’re in each other’s face / Spewing venom / And these words / When you spit ‘em / You push / Pull each other’s hair / Scratch, claw, bite ‘em / Throw ‘em down / Pin ‘em / So lost in the moments / When you’re in ‘em / It’s the rage that took over / It controls you both / So they say it’s best / To go your separate ways.”
The video continues with Charlie getting in a bar fight, shoplifting in a liquor store and Fox trying to leave him. Another fight brews as the house gets set on fire. The two get engulfed in flames as the house burns to the ground. The last frame though, has the two back in bed as if nothing in the video ever happened.
Critics have come out against Eminem with the release of the video as they deem it as glorifying domestic violence. Those critics are idiots. This is an accurate portrayal of domestic abuse, and Eminem was not afraid to put it in a video. Would they have rather Eminem rap over some Lifetime movie of the week that fictionalizes what true domestic violence is? What Eminem and Rihanna have gone through is horrifying, and it is something that happens to ordinary citizens every single day. It’s not a celebrity issue that only affects the rich and famous.
This video accomplishes an extraordinary feat by combining emotional lyrics with the extreme drama of an abusive relationship. Well done Mr. Mathers. Well done.
Music video by Eminem performing Love The Way You Lie. © 2010 Aftermath Records
Posted on 08/16/10
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Back To Blog - Tags: Aftermath, Eminem, Music Video, Review, Rihanna, Winning
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