Tom Petty’s Mudcrutch unite with Sean Penn & Anthony Hopkins for poignant video
Tom Petty and his pre-fame band Mudcrutch have unveiled the powerful video to their song ‘I Forgive It All’.
Lifted from their second studio album ‘Mudcrutch 2’, which landed back in May, in keeping with the song’s heartfelt lyrics the Sean Penn and Samuel Bayer co-directed video is a highly powerful affair.
Opening with archive clips of the Great Depression and the sounds of children begging for food, the video stars screen legend Anthony Hopkins as a man looking back on his past.
Driving through Los Angeles, he abandons his car in a deprived part of town and walks through homeless peoples’ camps. He eventually makes it to a downtrodden hotel where he asks for forgiveness in a sparsely furnished room.
Since being uploaded last Thursday, the video has already amassed more than 4million views on Facebook alone.
“The song made such an impression on me," Penn told Rolling Stone. "So much of it was going to be about what the actor was holding in his head. I didn't want to even articulate the story so much. I had a little backstory for myself, but I just wanted to shoot this in the way that wouldn't bury the song.
"Tom was super encouraging. I went over with Sam and told him what I had in mind and he said, ‘Go for it.’ His song is so strong anyway and I just found it so moving. It's just great songwriting.”
Speaking about Anthony Hopkins, Penn added: “He is just an artist for art's sake and he just liked the idea of doing it and jumping in. I just asked him and he said yes. It's that simple."