REVIEW | 빅스LR (VIXX LR) - Beautiful Liar MV
"This is a beautiful lie
My last lie
Even if it hurts to death
I am hiding myself
under a mask for you"
VIXX LR is the first sub-unit of VIXX, combining the powerful vocals of Leo and the multi-talented rapper Ravi in this beautiful song and mini-album as a whole. In this post though, I will be talking about what might be my most favourite K-POP music video yet and how it affected me personally and made me a Starlight...and I'm proud of it~
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO}
The story is basic; the girl decides to end her relationship with
Leo and despite their emotional struggles, in the end, the girl leaves. However,
it is actually Ravi and Leo’s story that creates such depth and melancholy
where it focuses not on the struggle of the couple, but the struggle of the man’s
contradicting emotions.
It begins with the scene of the girl giving Leo a wedding invitation, almost immediately revealing that this action will mark the final conclusion to their relationship. The girl herself show frustration towards her actions in the background, depicting that she did not like the decision she had made.
Leo’s expression remains blank but he soon closes his eyes to hide his pain…and reveals Ravi, his inner self, struggling in frustration in the similar room except that it is in disorder and chaotic –symbolising the rage Leo truly feels.
Even as Leo raises his head towards the mirror, he could see his other self appear right beside him. The later scenes also show how Ravi mirrors Leo’s actions but express almost the complete opposite of the latter. Leo appears to be passive and very reclusive while Ravi’s eyes burns with his emotions and appears almost obnoxious.
The scenes on the beach further show the difference between the two
personas; Leo’s piano remain clean and the lights provide a warm and kind aura
while Ravi’s is broken, vandalized and dark.
The
story takes up another notch in the scene where Leo and the girl sat
face-to-face, both expressing sadness and a sort of regret to what is happening
to their relationship and their eyes showed a longing for one another. The
moving light may also show the sense of wavering that they both feel.
However,
deep in Leo’s mind, Ravi is chasing the girl. Even when they are separated by the surface of the table, he searches for her in an almost maniacal manner and was even refused by her due to his tenacity.
At the same time, Ravi begins to actively talk to Leo. He appears to be
luring him to take the girl back and Leo is also seen to be in a daze…as if he
is entranced by Ravi’s words. The latter continues to seduce Leo into reaching
out for the girl and at one moment, he succeeds. But Leo takes control once again
and releases the girl’s hand.
The
scenes continue to show Leo and Ravi’s contradicting emotions where Leo finally
appears in pain and somewhat wavering of his emotions. Ravi, despite looking
menacing, stays by Leo’s side and watches over him.
It is in the concluding scene where the girl hands him over a key and lock attached together with an ‘L’ pendant –obviously depicting that it belongs to Leo and she is returning it.
As Leo reach for it, Ravi manifests and knocks it
off the table before appearing before the two. This would show the bubbling emotions
that are Leo’s finally taking form in its final stage where he truly could not
let the girl go. Ravi ‘s eyes are full of menace and his presence itself is
frightening…almost physically showing how intense Leo’s feelings truly are.
As
the girl stands and leaves, Ravi tries to go after her but is immediately
pulled back by Leo. He continues to fight against Leo, struggling to walk while
the latter pulls on his ankles and in the end crawls towards the girl but is
still pulled back and hugged tightly by Leo. These scenes, to me, are very
intense and it physically depicts the struggling emotions; to let go or to get
her back.
The
girl, too, showed hesitation as she looked back one final time before leaving
permanently.
Ravi, however, is still struggling against Leo and two scenes show how they both are trying to strangle each other.
But
Leo overpowers him and manages to kill Ravi instead. The two scenes of them trying
to strangle each other show the finale of the battle where the truth (Ravi)
lost against the lie (Leo).
In the end, Ravi releases Leo unwillingly –as seen
how he turns back towards the latter as he walked away- and Leo is left alone,
finally expressing the pain he felt.
MY THOUGHTS}
From my own observations and perspective, there really are hidden messages that we can find for ourselves through this beautiful video. Basically, I feel that the video expresses the 'people' that resides within us. In this case, Leo is the outer self while Ravi is the person within. Like a mask, our outer selves can easily become a lie which is related in this video where Leo is the 'lie' that he created to let go of the girl. Ravi expresses the true self, where his real feelings are suppressed again and again.
This is shown how Leo almost listened to Ravi when he tried to lure him into reaching for the girl. Just as how we often succumb to our inner thoughts, Leo listened to Ravi. This may also depict that no matter how we try to fight our own feelings, we can't truly run away from them.
"The only one who knows you the best, is yourself." Leo and Ravi's relationship in the video best explains this phrase. Every decision and action we make are all up to our own inner thoughts and feelings. This bond that we hold with our hearts is further shown by Leo and Ravi's closeness where even as a menacing character, Ravi continues to stay close to Leo and the latter never pushes him away.
In my personal opinion, these scenes reflect on how we should handle our 'inner demons'. Many people have tried to change to become a different person yet are constantly chased by our past selves. The two characters of this video does the very opposite. Even when they hold different emotions, Leo's actions where never repulsive against Ravi and even before he strangled him, the short scene of the two hugging highlights how Leo knew who he truly was inside and accepts it before executing the lie by killing him.
It’s a beautiful pain
Letting you go
I have to kill myself inside
Swallow my tears
And put on a smiling mask
The biggest struggle we could ever face is when we face ourselves and this video beautifully reflects that. It is not about the broken relationship with your lover, but it is the broken emotions you have deep inside.
I love this music video. It really helped me and pulled me out of the grief and darkness I was in due to my own broken relationship. But just as I've explained for the video, the fight I had within against my own emotions was the worst part. To let go of him, I had to let go of myself first and I was able to relate to this video as well as the amazing characters Ravi and Leo played.
VIXX LR as well as their main group VIXX, in my opinion, are terribly underrated and deserve so much more love. I, however, am proud to consider myself a Starlight ever since watching Beautiful Liar and I wish to give my own support to this amazing group!
VIXX, fighting! You have earned yourselves a new fan!
Assalamualaikum & ciao~
