“Stranger Things” star Maya Hawke released an X-rated music video for her newest song, “Thérèse.” The tune will be on her second album “Moss,” which comes out on September 23rd. Brady Corbet, who also directed “Vox Lux,” and played Peter in the 2007 remake of “Funny Games,” directed the video.
The 5-minute video for “Thérèse” opens with a card saying it is “Rated X.” The majority of it focuses on Hawke and her friends having an orgy in the woods. This is shown in graphic detail- until the police arrive. Some participants run to avoid arrest, while others are too caught up to notice the raid. Those that are caught, including the singer, remain mostly undressed for the rest of the video.
All of this happens over Hawke’s folk-like musical style. She almost sleepily repeats the chorus of “It’s tactless, it’s a test, it’s just Thérèse.” Trevor Tweeten’s cinematography and the choice to use 35mm film gives everything a soft and dream-like quality.
Maya Hawke told Dazed she “intends to capture the feeling that loneliness is the worst thing, until you realise it’s far superior to bad company; about how free we are as kids and then as we go through puberty and culture crushes down on us and instead of being ourselves, we start to try and be like everyone else.”
Hawke and Corbet hosted a screening of the music video on July 17th at the Metrograph in New York. “We are all bombarded with negative and doctored images of bodies all the time, whether we want to be or not,” invitations for the screening said. “The ‘art’ I saw about sexuality when I was growing up (being honest… I am still growing up) helped free me from a culture that seems to want us all to hate ourselves and fear others, right? There is a lot to feel bleak about these days but it’s important to find moments of joy and look out for each other where & when we can these days.”
This invite also included information on resources like the Trevor Project, Planned Parenthood, To Write Love on Her Arms, and NAACP.
Hawke will be performing at the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in September. Tickets are available now. If you’d like to watch the video for “Thérèse” it is available here. But remember, it *is* X-rated, so definitely not safe for work.
