Madonna’s Confessions II – The Film is packed with Easter eggs and cameos from Kate Moss, Sabrina Carpenter and Julia Garner
With appearances also from the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Honey Dijon and Richard E. Grant, Madonna pays homage to the history of Confessions on a Dance Floor
By Aaron Sugg
Madonna released Confessions II – The Film yesterday (8 June), featuring several celebrity cameos and historic Easter eggs honouring the Queen of Pop’s acclaimed career.
Surpassing one million views in less than 24 hours, the short film unveiled snippets of three unreleased songs: ‘Good for the Soul’, ‘Danceteria’ and ‘Read My Lips’.
In total, the film unfolds into six songs, including previously released lead single ‘I Feel So Free’, ‘Bring Your Love’ featuring Sabrina Carpenter, and ‘Love Sensation’.
Despite the new Confessions II songs, it was the celebrity cameos and tributes to her musical past which caught fans’ eyes.
Who made cameos in Madonna’s Confessions II – The Film?
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Julia Garner
- Debi Mazar
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Gwendoline Christie
- Odessa A’zion
- Cole Tucker
- João Pedro
- Kate Moss
- Arca
- Shygirl
- Richard E. Grant
- Honey Dijon
- Feid
- Lourdes Leon
- Archie Madekwe
Madonna’s Confessions II – The Film pays homage to ‘Bad Girl’
From her very first appearance in the 14-minute short, fans were gagged by Madonna’s opening look, which viewers claim is a homage to her character in the 1992 music video for ‘Bad Girl’, Louise Oriole.
Opening with her ‘I Feel So Free’ monologue: “Sometimes I like to just hide in the shadows, create a new persona, a different identity,” Madonna wears a black lace mini dress, surrounded by cameras with torches hitting her face.
Madonna repurposes lyrics from ‘Bedtime Stories’
Next, she flips the lyrics from her 1994 hit ‘Bedtime Stories’, previously singing, “Let’s get unconscious,” repurposing the words to: “Everything begins with consciousness.”
What unfolds next is pure Madonna excellence: a forest full of vagina and anal lasers sell one of the newest songs from her Confessions II album, ‘Good for the Soul’. Though this is not an Easter egg itself, it is pure cinema.
Madonna launches original Confessions on a Dance Floor wig
The reckless driving sequence that follows echoes the controversial video for her 2001 single ‘What It Feels Like for a Girl’, from the Music album, directed by Madonna’s then-husband Guy Ritchie, where the singer eventually ends up killing herself in a car crash.
During the sporadic driving scene, Madonna launches a red wig out of her driver’s seat window, imagery that links to the wig she wore on the original Confessions on a Dance Floor album cover art. The start of a new beginning.
Confessions II – The Film also ends with Madonna crashing, though this time she survives and struts in thigh-high latex boots into her next era.
Julia Garner stars in one of Madonna’s most iconic looks
Cue a dark club scene: ‘Bring Your Love’ begins playing, opening with a cameo from Julia Garner appearing in a pointed black cone bra, a homage to one of Madonna’s most iconic looks.
Madonna transforms into her upcoming biopic star Garner with one toss of her hair, with Garner donning a short blonde bob referencing Madonna’s mid-1980s True Blue period.
The actress is rumoured to play the ‘Hung Up’ singer in an upcoming limited series on Netflix, which is reportedly in development.
Sabrina Carpenter’s look is likened to Madonna’s ‘Girl Gone Wild’ music video
Sabrina Carpenter also makes an appearance in the same scene, with fans likening her look to Madonna’s ‘Girl Gone Wild’ music video.
Transitioning with a strut to a homoerotic club bathroom, Madonna meets supermodel Kate Moss, debuting Madonna’s new dance track ‘Danceteria’.
Celebrities party in the Confessions II – The Film bathroom scene
She joins several other stars in the crowded toilet scene, including Odessa A’zion and an unexpected cameo from a suit-wearing Benedict Cumberbatch. Honey Dijon, Gwendoline Christie, Richard E. Grant, Arca and footballer Cole Palmer are amongst those throwing it down to Madonna’s new club track.
Archie Madekwe plays a DJ, with Madonna handing him a cassette tape. The lyrics reference a DJ playing her debut single ‘Everybody’ at the legendary New York club Danceteria in 1982.
“He’s a DJ. He’s a DJ. I’m the cocaine. He played my ‘Everybody’. This is how we start the party,” sings Madonna before singing the ‘Danceteria’ chorus.
Lourdes Leon ends the film
Madonna’s 29-year-old daughter, Lourdes Leon, appears in Confessions II delivering two sarcastic lines while following her mother with a camera: “I wish a motherfucker would,” and, ending the film with: “Cut, bitch.”
The short film first premiered at New York’s Tribeca Festival on Friday (5 June) before being released globally via YouTube today (8 June). Directed by David Toro and Solomon Chase, who collaborate as TORSO.
Confessions II is set to be Madonna’s first studio album since 2019’s Madame X. The record reunites her with producer Stuart Price, who produced the original COADF.
Confessions II arrives on 3 July, while Confessions II – The Film is available to watch now on YouTube.