Anyone who has grown up with ‘Dirty Dancing’ as a popular culture reference (there is even an essay on the phenomenon, the recommendable ‘The Time of My Life’, by Hadley Freeman) cannot see an artistic acrobatics like the overhead lift without remembering Baby running towards Johnny as a metaphor for confidence, liberation and the transition to maturity. That caper will always be “the ‘Dirty Dancing’ jump.”
Anyone who is a fan of Will Ferrell cannot see two men doing dance stunts designed for mixed couples without remembering the hilarious climax of the hilarious ‘Skate to Glory’ (2007), one of the pinnacles of sports comedy.
I don’t know if Aube Perrie, regular director of Harry Styles’ music videos, has taken any of these two references into account (I bet not). But, I bet my Blu-ray of “Skid” because there is one that I surely had in mind: Spike Jonze’s ‘Weapon of Choice’, with the great Christopher Walken transmuted into a kind of postmodern Fred Astaire. The second part of ‘Aperture’ is a very clear tribute-rereading of the clip of the Fatboy Slim song.
Until we reach that twist, a fortunate narrative pirouette that we didn’t see coming, the video seems like a cross between a sad drama about the loneliness of the contemporary individual in non-places, and a mystery story about a sinister night stalker, hairy and with a creepy bag.
Then the story turns for the first time and transforms into a crazy action film, with chases and fights typical of a Jason Bourne film, and with visual nods to MC Escher’s stairs and the aseptic and soulless hallways of ‘Separation’.
