Justin Timberlake gets personal in emotional video for Mirrors

March 20th, 2013

Mirrors

Justin Timberlake is honouring the 63 year marriage of his maternal grandparents William and Sadie Bomar with his emotional music video for Mirrors, the second single from his third solo effort The 20/20 Experience, released yesterday.

The video is split into two sections, with the first half telling the story of Timberlake’s grandparents, from their first meeting to his grandmother cleaning out her bedroom after becoming a widow. Its been reported that William Bomar was unable to attend his grandson’s wedding to actress Jessica Biel in Italy last year as a result of his poor health, eventually passing away in later 2012. This is alluded to when the elderly actor portraying the late Bomar walks away from the young woman playing his wife while she’s wearing a wedding dress.

The second half of the video begins with Timberlake catching his grandmother’s falling engagement ring before beginning a solo dance performance in a room full of mirrors. Timberlake is later backed by a group of female dancers, who keep their distance until one approaches the singer, though the two are separated by a piece of glass.

The poignant video doesn’t sugar coat the ups and downs of Justin’s real-life examination of marriage, sensitively showing the good and bad times of a union that spanned over half a century. This isn’t the first time Justin has honoured his grandparents. In 2006, Timberlake founded William Rast clothing line with his friend Trace Ayala, naming the fashion line after the men’s grandfathers.

If the scenes of the actors portraying Timberlake’s grandparents in the later stages of their lives reminds you of Katy Perry’s The One That Got Away, they should. Both videos were directed by Floria Sigismondi, who is having a stand out year, documenting unrestrained performances from artists like Pink in her dramatic video for Try and Ellie Goudling in her heartbreaking visual accompaniment to Anything Could Happen.

While early reviews of Timberlake’s third solo effort have centred around the super star needing to edit down his lengthy tracks, Mirror’s eight minute run time feels justified, giving viewers the chance to process the stirring video. The odd wardrobe choice of the dancers in the second half unfortunately takes the audience temporarily out of the video and wondering what the women in leotards and wigs are meant to represent, but Timberlake’s solo performance saves the latter portion of Mirrors.

The 20/20 Experience has realized the power of Timberlake’s past songs like Love Stoned/I Think She Knows and created an entire record of transformative songs that take the listener away from their headphones and onto an emotional ride of memories and daydreams. Timberlake’s new video for Mirror’s is at its very simplest, his own personal roller coaster.