Other Doctor Lives: Lewis Capaldi – “Someone You Loved” (2019)

*Note: Since there are two different Capaldis in this project, I’ll mostly refer to them by their first names.*

It took me a bit of trial and error to find Peter Capaldi in this music video, because it turns out the song has two of them! I watched the official video first, which has so many people in it that I wondered if Peter was just a cameo in the crowd. (Singer Lewis Capaldi is an extended relation, so it would’ve been plausible to Peter to pop up briefly as an Easter egg.) But there’s a second music video, one in which Peter is the star.

It's a music video that tells a story, a decently complex one for the medium. In it, we quietly follow a man through his day, drifting in the recent memories of his days spent by a hospital bed. We see how his life intertwines with that of a young mother, how much they mean to each other in a way that few can relate to. (I’m avoiding getting too deep into spoilers, since watching this mini-story unfold in the video is genuinely lovely.)

As with a lot of story-driven music videos, the narrative it’s telling isn’t exactly the one told by the song, but it resonates on a similar level. Lewis’s voice is raw and plaintive as he sings about the loss of a loved one from his life. Some of my favorite lyrics from the song are as follows:

·        “It’s easy to say, / But it’s never the same. / I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain.”

·        “Now the day bleeds / Into nightfall, / And you’re not here / To get me through it all / I let my guard down, / And then you pulled the rug. / I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

·        “I’m going under and this time I fear there’s no one to turn to. / This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you.”

Extended relation or not, Peter Capaldi was a great choice to play the central man in the video (he’s the only character with a name, David Simon.) He brings such a light touch to the role, conveying sadness, loneliness, and love in a really understated way. His scenes show how wearying these emotions can be, how they weigh on you.

But at the same time, it’s ultimately a hopeful video. Wistful flashbacks are tinged with warmth and Peter’s lovely smile. We see unlikely connections that mean the world to the characters involved, new connections formed in the wake of the loss. The whole thing is wonderfully done, and the video gives the mournful song this sense of the sun waiting to peek from behind the clouds.

Accent Watch

Not applicable, there’s no dialogue.

Recommend?

In General – I would. I like the song anyway, and this video casts an interesting slant on it.

Peter Capaldi – Yes. Music videos tend to paint their stories in pretty broad strokes, but this one is fairly subtle. In less than three minutes of dialogue-free acting, I feel like I understand who David is, and that’s quite an accomplishment!

Warnings

Thematic elements.