Taylor Swift's rerelease of her 2012 album was spread to the world on the 12th of November 2021. It is called Red (Taylor's Version), and is an extended version of the original that was re-recorded, so she could properly own all the rights to her songs.This was a strong, powerful move on her part especially after losing the rights to her music she has put a lot of effort into from the beginning of her career, all because of Scooter Braun who sold her first six albums to Shamrock Holdings back in 2020.Taylor cast Maze Runner's Dylan O'Brien and Stranger Things star, Sadie Sink to tell her story, the tale of two lovers trapped in a short-lived, unbalanced and doomed relationship.
What Is All Too Well About?
What started as 5 minute song ended up manifesting into Taylor Swift's first ever short film, titled All Too Well, with a duration of 10 minutes. When Taylor releases a new album, most expect the fifth song to be an absolute rollercoaster of emotions.
To it's core, the film is about the transience and impermanence of a love that is inevitably doomed. Taylor reminisces on her heartbreak with what fans believe was from her one-year relationship with American actor Jake Gyllenhaal that came to an end in January 2011. Gyllenhaal, however, claims that the song is not about him.
The film tells her story of a crumbling love through six stages. These are called "an upstate escape, the first crack in the glass, the breaking point, the reeling, the remembering, and 13 years gone.” She appeared in an episode of Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Albums' podcast, where she discussed the writing process behind All Too Well that has now amassed such notoriety.
“It was a day when I was just, like, a broken human, walking into rehearsal just feeling terrible about what was going on in my personal life.” She continued; “It literally was just that song, but it had probably seven extra verses and it included the f-word… And I was like, ‘I actually really like this, but it definitely is like 10 minutes long and I need to pare it down, so I’m going to call Liz Rose.” - Taylor Swift discussing the re-release of Red and subsequent release of the full-version of All Too Well.
What Did Taylor Swift Say About All Too Well In An Interview?
Taylor Swift was incredibly proud and honored of Sadie and Dylan's performance in her short film. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon in November 2021, she discussed how they came to be in her film. Dylan O'Brien recounts that one night he woke up to a text from his agent asking if he'd like to be in Taylor's film, to which he responded yes without hesitation.
The video below is the full episode of Taylor's appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Taylor Swift had also brought Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien to the Tribeca film festival that took place on the 11th of June 2022, where they further discussed the creation and production of All Too Well. Taylor especially reflects how the character portrayed by Sadie is very close to her heart as it represents her personal journey in love.
"The kind of journey that Sadie's character is on is very reminiscent of experiences I've had." - Taylor Swift, Tribeca film festival, June 11, 2022.
Taylor appeared on the Late Night With Seth Meyers show in November 2021, where she discussed her casting choices. Taylor specifically chose the Sadie Sink to be in her first film, even going as far as to say that she doesn't think she would have made the film had Sadie refused the role.
"She was the first one I went to. If Sadie had said no, I don't think I would have made it... I don't think I would have made the film. - Taylor Swift
In the talk show, Taylor further praised Sadie and Dylan for their electrifying and exhilarating performance, stating that she enjoys working with people who are a fan of hers so that she feels they believe in her. She went on to say that the pair "'acted their a*ses off,", which they most definitely did, based on the euphoric responses from fans and viewers of the film.
Dylan O'Brien Loved Working With Taylor Swift
Dylan O'Brien has commented several times with high praise towards Taylor Swift's directing, describing that her confidence and directorial choices allowed him to perform whilst feeling comfortable, natural and with the flow. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in March 2022, Dylan said this:
“We fully breathed out these improvised moments in the scenes, and there was never a plan for the music to stop so the [kitchen fight] scene could play out. That was actually Taylor’s call,” O’Brien says. “After we did just one take of the kitchen scene, she came over and she was like, ‘This is it. I’m going to use this dialogue. We’re going to let this play. You’re right in the pocket. Let’s just do it again.’ And that is such a testament to her instincts as a director, which I found super impressive. So to make that [kitchen fight] call on the fly, she’s the shit.” - Dylan O'Brien
Sadie Sink Comments
Sadie Sink told Glamour magazine about how she idolizes Taylor Swift and was extremely honored to work with her and be chosen as a lead role for her debut film.
She had met her in a meet and greet years back, and was embarrassed at the photo taken. She never could have guessed that in a couple of years, her life would take a turn, and the very star she was sheepishly posing besides in her youth would be the very idol that she works with to progress her own career, in the name of creating a great story!
She, similarly to Dylan O'Brien, was in awe of Taylor's directorial lead and choices.
“She’s such an incredible human being and so smart, so grounded. Just everything you’d want her to be and just as a friend, as a director, as a mentor it’s really incredible to have her. That experience was really, really special and yeah, it was kind of a cool opportunity to step out of being a kid on screen.” - Sadie Sink to Glamour magazine
Sadie Sink was also present at the Tribeca film festival on the 12th of June 2022, in which she further discussed how it was to work alongside the household names, Dylan O'Brien and Taylor Swift.
Fans particularly are very fond of the fully improvised kitchen scene that Taylor chose to keep in her film, in which she praised Dylan for his acting skills. Seeing as this film was Sadie's first opportunity in appearing in a non-childish role, Sadie was over the moon to be paired with Dylan O'Brien, who made her feel comfortable both from his nurturing aura alongside Taylor's confidence in directing.
"There was just so much freedom and that's how we got such real moments... we didn't have to hold anything back." - Sadie Sink
What did you think about All Too Well? Did it also hit your heart in all the right places?