POPSCREEN: Enrique Iglesias

The path of love never did run smooth. But for Ciara and the now mole-free Enrique, the path is rougher than most could bear. Not them though. Their smoldering good looks match the steamy melodrama of this video, in which the pair portray unlikely but vengeful lovers busy at work destroying the interior of their home. Serene, airbrushed features are contorted as their relationship implodes. Beginning with shots of Iglesias scowling and head-tossing interspersed with scenes where Ciara vogues against a wall, it’s never clear whether the duo are angry or just turned on.

The situation devolves into rampant vandalism, with the couple pettishly destroying each others’ prized possesions. Ciara goes for the big ticket items, covering Enrique’s sweet ride with paint and throwing his prized artwork in their pool. Enrique, on the other hand, is content smashing Ciara’s perfume bottles and dropping a pitcher of milk. It seems he’s too busy scowling to put any effort into his vengeance.

The violent sounds of this tempestuous break up—glass shattering, shrieks of rage, car alarms—are drowned out by the tepid tune of a rather weak pop ballad. Everything happens in slow motion; the events taking place within the dim interior of Ciara and Enrique’s fictive home seem as though they were transpiring underwater. Objects don’t fall, they float through the air and shatter delicately against the floor. You begin to wonder what the creators were trying to do—are we supposed to take this seriously?

In any event, violence has surprisingly little impact when everything seems drowned in silver lighting and dance beats. Such glamorization of violence can be dangerous; don’t let Chris Brown see this video.

The images on the video are objectively passionate and tempestuous, but no similar feeling is communicated through the music. The beat is infectious but not irresistible, the images glamorous but vapid. Ciara’s strong voice almost makes up for Enrique’s ubiquitous posturing. Together they are a satisfactory pop duet.

—Catherine A. Morris