The Shoes: Time to Dance (2012 Music Video) User Reviews

Gyllenhaal got it fame but this doesn't mean it isn't stylish and effective as a pop video as well

[bob the moo · 22 February 2014]

Would this music video / short film (/ being an appropriate word) be as famous as it was without the presence of director's mate Jake Gyllenhaal? Probably not but to ignore the whole piece because Gyllenhaal's presence is part of its success is unfair too since perhaps there is something in here. The plot, such as it is, sees an upbeat catchy pop track from The Shoes played over scenes of the main character isolated, angry, alone and committing brutally violent murders with fencing swords, hammers and whatever else.

There isn't a great deal of content in here but visually it is well directed and memorable with quick edits, atmospheric shots and some quite unnerving moments along the way. The song is disposable but catchy and I did like the juxtaposition of that music with those acts and that character. Although he seems to be there for a favor, Gyllenhaal actually does a pretty good job and seems to have created a character inside his head as his violent moments and his quiet moments do all have something about them – he may be standing alone in the snow, but a lesser actor would have been doing just that physical action whereas his body and eyes suggest more, which I liked.

It is still a music video and probably doesn't deserve the attention that its star got it, but this doesn't mean that it isn't also stylishly done and well acted too.

Gyllenhaal goes Dexter

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 24 September 2013]

It doesn't happen too often that music videos feature one of more famous actors of or generation, but this is an exception. For their 2012 song "Time to Burn", The Shoes managed to get Academy-Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal on board. He plays a loner who moonlights as a psychopathic serial killer. As for his modus operandi, he puts on a fencing outfit and goes to costume parties, where he carefully selects his next victim. Besides that, we also see the other ways, in which he spends his waking days: working out, eating, clubbing etc. just like any other normal guy.

All in all, it's a pretty okay effort. The action doesn't get boring during these eight-and-a-half minutes and the song is actually pretty catchy. Worth taking a look/listen at, especially for Gyllenhaal fans. On a side-note, the music video's director Daniel Wolfe may soon have his first feature out, which will possibly increase the popularity of this short film as well.