Veteran director Jonas Åkerlund and jumP NY’s Luis Moreno create a magical world for Coldplay’s newest single. Stylized in the vein of a black and white silent film from the 1920’s, “Magic” stars Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Ziyi Zhang as flapper magicienne Cecile. Coldplay front man Chris Martin plays dual parts, in the role of Claude, Cecile’s “mustachioed husband, the famous but drunk magician,” as well as Cecile’s doting assistant, Christophe. The beautiful Cecile works on her act with the besotted Christophe as husband Claude grows increasingly jealous. At the finale, Cristophe reveals some illusions of his own, including levitation, to woo the object of his affection.
With masterful editorial, Luis captures the quick scene transitions and interjected subtitled cards of the silent film era. Moreno and Åkerlund are frequent collaborators, with the pair previously making music video magic for stars like Beyoncé and The Rolling Stones, as well as the Grammy-winning Paul McCartney documentary “Live Kisses.”