Their naked bodies are skin to skin and bathed in amber in one frame and chilled in brightness in the other, but although Shia LaBeouf and Margaret Qualley are intimately close, they are emotionally miles apart.
Relationships are messy; some come easier than others, but they can be just as complicated as the one depicted in the singer Rainsford’s, Love Me Like You Hate Me, released last week.
Her music video features LaBeouf, already well known to the world for his various roles in blockbuster movies, and Qualley, Rainsford’s sister and newcomer who made her mark with her leading role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Qualley trained in dance from a young age, attending the North Carolina School of the Arts at 16 before pivoting to acting.
She returned to her dance roots in the video choreographed by JA Collective, a choreographic duo consisting of USC Kaufman School of Dance alums Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry, who are best known for their work with the band Half Alive.
Qualley toys with LaBeouf the minute the video starts, touching hands but never holding. She flips the sink off and on in the kitchen until she gets his full attention. Their heads dig through the air, until they are nose to nose.
“I’m so scared of breaking up,” Rainsford sings, while the two tie and untie knots with their arms.
LaBeouf diverts and is out of both frames depicted on screen. Although tense, their warmth shines through. There is a sense of love, but it is off by centimeters. At one point, the distance is the depth of a windowpane. She screams for his attention by saying nothing, while he yearns for something more beyond the patio.
Qualley’s playful and experimental movement links fingers with her acting chops when she is alone. She shows both the character and her own personality as she looks at a blank wall, making it her canvas. She paints a horizontal line with her forearm, smiling. The movement repeats over and over until she dissolves into what feels like lunacy.
She wonders why she still loves him.
He’s a treacherous wind that flings her from one side of the couch to the other without even touching her.
LaBeouf is just as troubled, going through the motions under that running water of the shower. They never look each other in the eye, even when they are close together. It’s the subtle movement choreographed by Carberry and Johnson that tell the story so vividly and powerfully that it feels like you’re in the same room, watching as the relationship dissolves to nothing by a physical touch on the knee.
Watch the full video here: http://lovemelikeyouhate.me/
Learn more about Rainsford singer Rainey Qualley in an interview with Brit Wigintton for Ampersand LA here.