In Billie Eilish‘s new music video for “Chihiro,” the 22-year-old pop star can’t decide if she loves or hates her costar, who’s played by Nat Wolff.
In the new visual released Thursday (June 6), Eilish feverishly runs through an abandoned building. When she sees a strange man — aka the Paper Towns actor — emerge from one of the rooms, she chases after him, only for him to vanish once she catches up to him.
Looking dizzy, the singer then finds her target standing farther down the hallway. This time, she’s able to get to him, and they become aggressive with each other.
“Open up the door, can you open up the door?/ I know you said before you can’t cope with any more,” she pleads on the Finneas-produced track. “You told me it was war, said you’d show me what’s in store/ I hope it’s not for sure, can you open up the door?”
After a minute of fighting, Eilish and Wolff make amends and run for the exit together. Outside in the sunshine, though, the pattern repeats — but this time, the Death Note actor chases and catches her. They wrestle violently in the grass for a while — occasionally interrupted by murky underwater shots — until suddenly, the two start being affectionate with each other again.
The five-minute video was self-directed by the nine-time Grammy winner, who “envisioned a dreamlike narrative in which the long, dark hallways and shutting of doors symbolize the different corners of the mind,” according to a release. “She tumbles into an inescapable connection,” it continues. “The external expression of an internal push and pull, as our deepest feelings of fear, love, or desire inevitably catch up to us, no matter how hard we try to run away.”
Within minutes of the project arriving on YouTube, Eilish posted a clip on Instagram and wrote, “one of my favorite videos i’ve made & truly one of the greatest days of my life.”
“Chihiro” debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 following the release of Eilish’s new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. All 10 of the LP’s tracks made it onto the chart in their first week of eligibility, led by “Lunch,” which reached No. 5.
Watch Eilish’s “Chihiro” music video above.
