Anyhow, Melina and Beyonce herself, directed the video, and for once I can say I'm extremely pleased and impressed. For one, I love the song. It's very Hadley Street Dreams-ish, which is understandable since it was written by Solange. The video is extremely interesting with its vivid imagery and Beyonce's depiction of a woman scorned. The costumate changes, 60's inspired setting and excellent use of desaturation and grain all worked together well and made this video look like a well thoughtout and produced piece of work. But what intrigues me the most about this piece is that it reminds me of the sound (and image) that Beyonce was initially going for prior to the release of her debut album, Dangerously in Love.
Remember, when Fever was among one of the album cuts and Work it Out was supposed to be this huge hit but it flopped? I always wonder what would've been of Beyonce had she stuck with her initial "R&B soul" route. We saw glimpses of it on the Cadillac Records soundtrack, which in my opinion, was better than most of the songs on I Am... Sasha Fierce. I've always preferred her more old-school influenced R&B records (like Resentment and Gift From Virgo, for example), as oppose to her signature modernized synth-heavy productions. Maybe her next project will see Beyonce return to her original path, to her original sound, to what she apparently wanted to do from the beginning but never did because it just never caught on with the public. In the meantime, enjoy what I think is one of Beyonce's best videos in recent memory.
P.S. Thank you Gaga for inspiring Bee. You're just what she needed. ;)