Madonna's new video, Confessions II, is a follow-up to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, though it feels like no time has passed. The 10-minute film, which debuted at the Tribeca festival and has garnered over a million YouTube views, is a surreal journey through pop culture, desire, and defiance.
The Chair
Madonna strikes a classic dominatrix pose in a satin corset and stilettos, but her posture suggests vulnerability and openness, as if inviting questions while remaining untouchable.
The Lasers
Green lasers shoot from vulvas and butts, symbolizing life force and orgone energy. The message: power lies in desire, not in being desired.
The Airbag
Through clever editing, Madonna appears as driver, passenger, or atop a car that crashes. A red-lipped figure kisses the airbag, echoing themes of omnivorous female desire.
Sabrina Carpenter
The pop star appears with her own vibe, not as a mini-Madonna. Choreography and camera angles create ambiguity, blurring identities among Carpenter, Julia Garner, and Madonna herself.
Kate Moss
The supermodel arrives amid the lyric Hide the cocaine, leaving it unclear who is hiding it from whom. It's a moment of deliberate mystery.
Odessa A'Zion
Odessa brings a darker, grumpy Gen Z energy, embodying the theme of diversity within humanity.
The Toilets
Men at urinals are harassed by women, while same-sex snogging and self-admiration occur in cubicles. Debi Mazar appears, and gender lines blur, creating a chaotic, inclusive space.
Gwendoline Christie
Christie plays a prim observer shocked by the antics, but she is not mocked; she becomes part of the communal organism.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch looks awkward as Madonna grabs his jaw and forces him to dance, whether real or acted, it's a masterclass in discomfort.
Camerawomen, Gimp Masks, Nepo Babies, and Bananas
The film ends with camerapeople in futuristic masks, including Madonna's daughter Lourdes, who says Cut, bitch. Bananas are eaten, perhaps a parenting gesture, while the scene mixes robot dystopia and OnlyFans aesthetics.
