Madonna's 'Confessions II' Premiere: A Surreal Spectacle and Candid Revelations

Anticipation was high for the Tribeca Film Fest premiere of Madonna's Confessions II, billed as "an ambitious visual work exceeding 10 minutes, built around the first six tracks of Madonna's forthcoming album." What attendees witnessed was a surreal polyptych: women with lasers emanating from their private parts, Benedict Cumberbatch voguing, and Madonna herself in various iconic personae.

The 13-minute short film was a star-studded affair, featuring 16 celebrity cameos including Sabrina Carpenter, Feid, Debi Mazar, Kate Moss, Julia Garner, Odessa A’zion, Richard E. Grant, Honey Dijon, and Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon. With stunning visuals and samples from the upcoming Confessions II album – a spiritual successor to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor – including "I Feel So Free" and "Bring Your Love," the experience justified the two-and-a-half-hour wait, during which phones were locked away in Yondr cases.

Fresh off a traffic-stopping performance in Times Square, Madonna arrived at New York’s Beacon Theatre in a dramatic feathery coat and sparkly dress. After the film concluded with Lourdes Leon’s emphatic "Cut, bitch" and the credits rolled, the legendary artist took to the stage for a Q&A. Moderated by Anderson Cooper, who stepped in for an unavailable Jimmy Fallon, this was the moment the audience truly came for.

For 45 minutes, Madonna spoke with characteristic candor. She voiced her disdain for cell phones, lamenting their role in preventing genuine connection, recalling a Coachella crowd where "I didn’t know what anyone looked like." She reminisced about discovering gay clubs in Detroit, where "everyone was free," and feeling like an outsider in New York, seeking solace in F. Scott Fitzgerald (though notably, not The Great Gatsby) in clubs. She even recounted making out with Mazar "just to attract boys." Questions about an upcoming tour were met with playful deflections: "There might be [one]."

Madonna emphasized that this project was more than just a music video. "I like the idea of film, because I’m a ‘film-phile,’ a cinephile, and film has inspired a good part of my life," she stated, channeling her inner Norma Desmond as she added, "Somehow [the word] video seems cheap. It was good when it was just MTV and me."

While the film bore hallmarks of Madonna's signature provocative style, with imagery that would have once been banned by MTV, it felt uniquely distinct – a "let’s-get-unconscious freaky bedtime story." Previously unreleased tracks like "Good for the Soul," "One Step Away," "Danceteria," and "Read My Lips" pulsed with danceable rhythms, weaving into a fever dream. "I’m a storyteller, so, emotion journey, storytelling, and [TORSO are] from another planet and they think [about] environment and visual dopamine-firing."

The film opens with Madonna in solitude, pursued by camera-wielding, lingerie-clad women, before transitioning to a forest where a white light beams from her crotch. This surreal imagery then cuts to green lasers emanating from spinning, spread-eagled women and doggystyle figures. Madonna credited directors David Toro and Solomon Chase, collectively known as TORSO, for the visuals. "Specifically, I never would have imagined lasers coming out of girls’ pussies. Honestly, I really wanted to try it, but apparently, you get quite hot."

Other scenes include a gay club where Madonna and Carpenter sing, and Garner dances; a bathroom where Madonna makes out with men plucked from urinals, and Mazar and Cumberbatch dance; Feid in a mirror; black latex-wrapped BDSM women eating bananas; and the audience favorite, Lourdes Leon, who closes the film.

Madonna initially hesitated to ask Lourdes to participate, as her daughter "really turns everything down that has to do with me." However, they collaborated on a song for the record, "The Test," which Madonna described as "a healing moment." She expressed immense pride in Lourdes, calling her "immensely talented, way more talented than I am. I’m not saying that because I’m her mom."

The film took six months to create, with filming locations spanning London, Los Angeles, and New York, as part of the year-and-a-half devoted to the Confessions II album. Madonna explained her decision to make a dance album as a distraction while awaiting other film and series projects. She envisioned the LP as a cohesive, long-playing story, designed "to dance with from start to end, something that would take you on a journey," becoming more thoughtful and intimate towards the close.

Ultimately, for Madonna, it's about the profound way music moves you. "I don’t want to make mindless music," she affirmed. "I want to make music that’s about something. Dance music makes you move your body, and you feel the pulse. It’s, like, you’re connecting to the universe, you’re connecting to other humans." This theme of connection resonated throughout the evening. "The movie’s really about connection," Madonna concluded. "You just really go through life, take risks, be curious, be observant. … And put your fucking phones down and connect."

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