If you were in the audience for Arcade Fire’s Coachella set during the festival’s second weekend, you might’ve noticed a tall, lanky woman in a white dress brush past the security barrier and climb onstage with the band. Only, that woman wasn’t some random stage-crasher, she was actually Andrew Garfield in drag. And it was all a moving video released today for the “Billie Jean”-inspired Reflektor track, “We Exist.”
Echoing Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful,” it opens with Garfield buzzing off his hair and then trying on a bra, pink blouse, and a blonde wig—weeping, perhaps with joy, as he watches his own transformation. Describing the song’s coming out narrative, Win Butler said, “[it’s] about a gay kid talking to his dad,” but the video is much more. At its turning point, there’s a beautifully choreographed dance sequence that encapsulates the lyrical theme of empowerment. “We Exist” is yet another early contender for the year’s best music video.
