The Explosive Argument In Taylor Swift's All Too Well Film Sparks Strong Reactions
Along with the re-release of Taylor Swift's fourth studio album "Red," Swift dropped "All Too Well: The Short Film." The 10-minute version of the iconic song was highly anticipated. As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the fifth song on each of Swift's albums typically marks the most personal, heartfelt, and meaningful part of the given work, so knowing "All Too Well" was finally being released in its full-fledged broken-hearted honesty left fans overflowing with emotions.
The short film premiere was held November 12, the release day of "Red (Taylor's Version)," in New York City. As the director and writer of the short film, Swift spoke before the screening, telling fans they are the reason for making "All Too Well" what it is. "I think the most important thing about this project is that this is a song that would not be a special song in every setlist I do, in every single list where someone says what are the best songs she's ever [made] — that was all because of you," she said, per Billboard.
As fans prepared to watch the timeline of love and heartbreak, Swift encouraged audience members to feel their feelings. "You do not need to be stoic, serious, or anything that you are not if that is not how you want to feel during this. Be yourselves. I love you. I'm going to watch this with you." Yet, it wasn't only audience members who became emotional from the short film — it was fans, and even non-fans, because a certain scene in the film depicted a sad, shared experience for many.
Fans were reminded of their own first crack in the glass
"Love is so short, forgetting is so long," reads the opening quote as "All Too Well: The Short Film" begins. Sadie Sink stars as "Her," aka Taylor Swift, and Dylan O'Brien stars as "Him," though rumor has it his character embodies actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
The almost 15-minute film depicts a whirlwind relationship, from falling in and out of love, with "All Too Well" playing in the background. Yet, one part of the film — the first crack in the glass — emotionally impacted fans in a deep way. The scene depicts an explosive fight between Sink and O'Brien after he dropped her hand at a dinner party. During the fight, O'Brien says the argument is ridiculous and the drastic difference in the pair's age (and feelings) becomes clear. Swifties intimately related to this argument.
"I felt the bafflement, the rage, the gaslighting all in her eyes. So many of us have been there too," one fan wrote Twitter. Another added that the fight hit close to home: "I feel like the fight in the #AllTooWell short film is like close to word for word what he said. And that makes me...so upset." After the film ended, Swift, Sink, and O'Brien all headed to the front to talk about the film. O'Brien began by saying (per The Hollywood Reporter), "Hey, I'm sorry about that," in reference to his character. While an audience member yelled out "a******" to O'Brien, it became clear that audience members were reliving their own memories — ones they remembered all too well.