Director: Jonathan Glazer; Actor: Denis Lavant; Year: 1998
A man wearing a heavy parka walks along the middle of the road in a busy car tunnel. He mumbles, shouts incoherently and seems to be losing his mind. Cars honk and swerve out of his way. One car crashes into him and continues to drive off. The man gets up and starts walking again as if nothing has happened. Another car hits him and watches with contempt as man rolls on the floor. He gets up again. Cars swerve until one car tries to help him, but the man ignores them until they drive off. The man becomes increasingly crazy, shouting louder and grabbing his face. More accidents occur, some cars honk, some swerve, none stop. The man removes his parka and throws it to the ground. He is shirtless underneath. He has bruises and cuts. He stop and opens his arms in a crucifix-like position. A car hits the man, but this time, he stands unmoved and the car is destroyed on impact.
1) Genre characteristics
Ambient, electronic, alternative, trip hop - the video has monochrome visuals, a bleak style in an industrial modern context with a mysterious lead character.
2) Relationship between lyrics and visuals
"I'm a rabbit in your headlights"
Relates to the cars driving by in the tunnel.
"Christian suburbanite"
Relates to his crucifix-like posture at the end of the video.
"Washed down the toilet"
Relates to the lack of respect drivers have for the homeless man as if he is garbage.
"White worms on the underground"
Relates to being in a car tunnel, although the white worms are metaphorical.
"I'm losing my patience"Relates to the impatient drivers who mistreat the man in the tunnel.
"Sucking your soul away"
Relates to the poor treatment by the drivers towards the man, as if they are affecting his state of mind.
3) Relationship between music and visuals
Thom Yorke's lyrics are dreary and moody. The cinematography is also grey, drab and colourless. In the climactic scene of the video, the music swells in a loud rock anthem, echoing the moment of magic realism when the car impacts with the motionless man.
4) Demands of the recording label
Mo Wax Recordings / A&M Records Ltd. London - Independent record label that encourages subversive meanings in music videos and wants to challenge the audience rather than adhering to the mainstream consumption of popular music.
5) Frequency reference to notion of looking
Passers-by stare at the unusual man walking in the tunnel. Point-of-view shots show drivers giving a direct address stare to the camera which is meant to represent the eyeline of the character walking. In one shot after he has fallen after being hit by a car, there is a high-angle direct address shot that shows the perspective of the hopeless victim looking at the malevolent attacker. The final shot where the main remains motionless in Christ-like pose whilst the car crumples into him on impact, he stares directly at the camera and at the viewer. Eye contact has a profound effect throughout the video.
6) Intertextual Reference
The track takes its title from the 1990 thriller film 'Jacob's Ladder' with its dialogue sampled in the song.
Video imagery is an homage to Alan's Clarke's 'Made in Britain'. In that film, the actor Tim Roth walks down a London tunnel shirtless whilst cars drive by honking their horns.
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