The Spike Jonez clip for Kenzo’s new fragrance immediately brings to mind the director’s iconic music video for Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice,” with its career-redefining dance performance by Christopher Walken. Set to the track “My Mutant Brain,” performed by Jonez’s brother Sam Spiegel and Ape Drums, and choreographed by Ryan Hueffington (who worked on Sia’s “Chandelier” video), the new short is also fueled by its juxtapositions, by the way what you initially see and what is then done with it jar you.
Actress Margaret Qualley (best known as the sulky teen daughter on HBO’s “The Leftovers”) gets to show off her dance training background as she portrays a bored-to-tears debutante. Ducking out of a boring society affair, she proceeds to twirl, kick, mug, bust up museum artifacts, and give free rein to every tic and spasm that flutters through her body. (You can definitely see Heffington bringing the same artistic DNA to the choreography here that he did for the Sia project.) It’s not until the very end of the clip that we’re even let in on the fact that the whole thing is an advert for a new scent. Jonez and crew are celebrating body freedom, the throwing off of the chains of decorum and expectation – and the rare luxury of being able to do so without sacrificing trust funds or social standing.
