Danny Gokey I Will Not Say Goodbye Video Review

Danny Gokey – I Will Not Say GoodBye Music Video

Review written by Suzanne Brombacher – Follow her on Twitter

There are two versions of I Will Not Say Goodbye Video –the short version and the long version. Expertly directed by Wes Edwards, both feature black and white footage of Danny Gokey performing the song interspersed with stories of people who have lost family members in the line of duty, whether in law enforcement or the military. The long version, while all three stories are extremely touching, loses something in all the talk and has more of the feel of a documentary than a video, and Danny‘s appearances are too far apart for the video to flow together well. There is too much talking and too little music. The short version is, IMO, far more effective, with the best story (an elderly woman who lost her son in the line of duty) shown between shots of Danny performing.

The video begins with a view of Danny sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, his back to us, his head bowed in despair. The room he sits in is stark and empty, with a single bright light illuminating the room but is not at all warm; the mood in the room despite the bright light, is very cold and stark. The camera zooms in on Danny, sans glasses, looking for all the world like a younger Robert Downey Jr., singing softly, his voice heavy with grief, his eyes dark with despair. There are scenes of vast empty rooms; boxes packed, no one home, scenes of nothing where life has been before. Grief and anger and loneliness make Danny appear older than he really is, wiser and more vulnerable at the same time. A closeup of Danny’s hand clutching the back of his neck, more scenes of empty rooms, empty lives. Danny rises, pulls on a leather jacket, dons his glasses, steps into a hallway. Shadows surround him as he walks slowly, belting the lyrics, his face contorted by emotion which is almost overwhelming. It’s very hard not to cry, and yet it doesn’t feel manipulative. The emotion is excruciating, powerful, but 100% honest. Through his voice, Danny is releasing the demons who have been haunting him and at the same time allowing the listener to release their own demons. He makes it seem somehow safe to do so.

Wes Edwards’ use of light is incredible and effective in conveying the intense mood. It’s dark in the beginning, with the single bare lightbulb flashing overhead, Danny staring blankly at it as he sings–his eyes black and haunting. As Danny gets into the song, he walks through that stark but shadowy hallway, losing himself in his emotion, almost angry. (He was NOT acting!) The part that really gets me is when he emerges onto that dark stage, and the stage lights overhead create several haloes around and over him, lending a sense of hope and wonder to all the darkness and sadness. Yet for awhile the room remains in the dark. At the same time this is happening his voice soars on the second chorus. As he finally stops on the bare stage he looks out and all the lights flicker on, showing a vast theater full of empty chairs. It’s extremely haunting and incredibly powerful. It has the same feel as a dream, and both intense grief and intense hope are expressed at the same time. Vignettes of a policeman’s funeral and photos of the family left behind are flashed between scenes of Danny exorcising every emotion known to man through his powerful voice. As Danny hits the final heartbreaking falsetto, he throws back his head and his hand clutches his chest, and then we cut away again to the grieving mother.

After the mother’s story concludes, the camera once again focuses on Danny’s face, no longer intense and angry and grim. Now his features seem somehow softer, more resigned. Slowly his head drops and in that moment a single tear on his right cheek can be seen catching the light. This could have been cheesy beyond belief, but is so subtle it’s barely noticeable, and it works. When you stop fighting you soften and may cry, and that’s when you can move on and see that death is not the end of life, and may be the beginning.

Wes Edwards has really outdone himself with this video. It is a work of art and should have been Best Video of the Year. What could have been a cheesy trainwreck has been executed with subtlety, honesty and sensitivity, and neither exploits Danny’s story or the stories of the three families the video features.

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