Along with releasing a 30-song album on Nov. 12, Taylor Swift (“Reputation”) surprised fans with a short film based on the much anticipated “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault).”

The film was written and directed by Swift and stars Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”) as Her and Dylan O’Brien (“Teen Wolf”) as Him. The characters are assumed to be young Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal, who dated for a period in 2010. It goes between music video style with “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” playing over scenes of the characters together and dialogue showing parts of the relationship Swift alludes to both in this song and others. 

The short film is split into seven chapters that represent the stages of Swift and Gyllenhaal’s relationship, “An Upstate Escape,” “The First Crack In The Glass,” “Are You Real?,” “The Breaking Point,” “The Reeling,” “The Remembering” and “Thirteen Years Gone,” which is an epilogue starring Swift as Her, later On.  “An Upstate Escape” and “First Crack In The Glass” hold most of the dialogue and acting, as the latter shows a fight between Him and Her following a dinner party with His friends. These portions of the movie give more clarity to listeners about the relationship and how it fell apart so quickly, as Swift and Gyllenhaal reportedly only dated for three months. 

The rest of the short film closely follows the lyrics and is a visual representation of what Swift is singing about. “An Upstate Escape” follows Her and Him on a car ride through the forest during fall and matches with the lyrics, “We’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate/Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place/And I can picture it after all these days.” 

“Are You Real?” circles back to the happiness of the relationship after “First Crack In The Glass” revealed the hardships. The couple seems to glow as they do crossword puzzles and hold each other, as Swift sings in reminisce, “Cause there we are again in the middle of the night/We’re dancing ’round the kitchen in the refrigerator light/Down the stairs, I was there/I remember it all too well.”

The lyrics of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” are beautifully shown by Sink, especially as she is shown in “The Reeling” and “The Remembering” getting over the breakup. Her is seen walking through an art exhibition alone while sipping champagne and looking around for anyone she knows, signaling her feelings of loneliness and abandonment from Him while the words “A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you, not weeping in a party bathroom/some actress asking me what happened, you/That’s what happened, you.”

The film ends with Her, later on at a book signing for her novel “All Too Well,” which Swift is selling as merchandise for “Red (Taylor’s Version),” while an older version of Him watches from outside. It is the perfect ending, as it matches up with the lyrics” Just between us, do you remember it all too well?/Just between us, I remember it (Just between us), all too well” and shows how both parties feel 13 years after their relationship fell apart. 

Swift shows her multitude of talents in “All Too Well: The Short Film,” as she impeccably wrote, directed and starred in a glorious representation of the song that fans have been anticipating for months. The movie is available on YouTube and is a must watch for any Swiftie.

Image from Taylor Swift via YouTube