Rolling stones have leaned to a high level of theatricality in visuals for songs from Hackney Diamonds, their latest studio album. In the recently released music video for “Mess It Up,” British actor Nicholas Hoult stars as an ex-boyfriend who doesn't know what he's got until he's gone.
In the visual, directed by Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak collaborator Calmatic, Hoult emerges from a tumultuous relationship and dances through the seasons. As time passes, he grows a beard and the Stones sing, “Oh, I said sorry, mmm, I know it ended badly/You came to the right place, baby, at the wrong time, it's kind of sad. ”
By the time Hoult's character realizes, too, it's too little too late. When she returns home to find the front door locked, a young boy is waiting on the other side. Shock overwhelms the man, who has apparently been missing for at least a few years, having thought he was better off alone. But when the woman he left behind reacts in fear, instead of celebrating his return, her new beau comes to her rescue – and knocks Hoult cold.
Hoult is the second Hollywood star to be recruited to appear in a Rolling Stones music video this year. In September, the band shared the accompanying visual for “Angry,” which surfaced Euphoria and Anyone but you actress Sydney Sweeney.
His entire release Hackney Diamonds it felt festive, somehow. It is the first album of original music the band has shared since 2005 and the first since the death of drummer Charlie Watts. “Mess It Up” is one of two songs recorded for the album before Watts' death.
“Everything I do is a tribute to Charlie Watts,” said Keith Richards Rolling rock earlier this year. “It's impossible for me to put anything down without automatically thinking that Mr. Watts is dropping the pulse.”
