Lemonade

The film opens with Beyoncé leaning against a car in a parking garage, her face obscured by a fur coat. The scene then cuts to Fort Macomb and intercuts shots of Beyoncé in a black hoodie among reeds and on an empty stage with closed red curtains. This opening sets a mood of isolation and performance.

On a plantation, Black women dressed in white recite the first poem while intercut with shots of Beyoncé standing among reeds in a black hoodie. The visual contrast underscores themes of history, memory, and resilience. The sequence blends ritual, spoken verse, and Beyoncé's enigmatic presence.

Beyoncé performs Pray You Catch Me in an old metal bathtub, a stark, intimate moment that frames vulnerability as power. The scene uses water and close framing to convey emotional exposure before the narrative moves to larger, more violent imagery.

She emerges from a stage onto a rooftop and leaps off the edge, plunging into deep waters as the song ends. The jump marks a daring pivot from performance to a perilous transformation. The moment is shot as a turning point toward self-confrontation.

Floating underwater, Beyoncé unzips her hoodie and reveals a skin-toned bustier, then swims into a submerged bedroom where she encounters a version of herself resting on a bed. She surfaces and steps onto a street in a flowing yellow dress as Hold Up begins.

Beyoncé walks a busy city street, picks up a baseball bat, and smashes car windows while bystanders cheer. She triggers a fire hydrant that sprays water, breaks a security camera and a storefront window as explosions echo behind her, and finally climbs into a monster truck to drive away.

In an abandoned parking garage, women in long white dresses link their sleeves and move in unison as a lone drummer plays while dancers in black approach an SUV. A ring of fire ignites as Don't Hurt Yourself begins, and Beyoncé, braided in cornrows, performs with fierce intensity. An intertitle proclaims God is God and I am not before she throws her wedding ring at the camera.

In a bus, dancers in tribal paint move in unison while Beyoncé listens to a spoken-word piece about infidelity over a Swan Lake-inspired melody. In a plantation mansion, Serena Williams wanders the halls and dances in front of Beyoncé as she sings Sorry, heightening the sense of disillusion. The sequence ends with Beyoncé seated crosslegged in an empty room, while scenes of women in a field fade to black.

"Dear Moon" is recited as visuals show a plantation mansion bathed in a blood-red glow, followed by Beyoncé riding in a vintage Cadillac at night. She moves through a room with other women dressed in black, swinging a lightbulb, and the word LOSS flashes as a window explodes into fire. She dances on a stage behind glass, appears in a grand white dress on a bed, and walks a hallway as the mansion begins to burn.

Little girls play in a mansion while a mother and daughter sit in a bedroom, contrasting with an interview in which a man recounts meeting President Obama during a storm. The sequence cuts to Fort Macomb tunnel as Beyoncé sings Daddy Lessons and guitars a memory-laden soundtrack. Childhood home videos of Beyoncé and her father and moments with Blue Ivy weave life in New Orleans into the narrative.

Beyoncé lies in an empty playing field in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as Love Drought begins, then cuts to scenes of women dressed in white walking in a line into the ocean, alluding to Igbo Landing and collective endurance. The imagery connects personal pain to historical memory and collective resistance.

In a sparsely furnished house, she plays Sandcastles on the piano while intercut with child-like drawings, wilted flowers, and a flickering fireplace. She and Jay-Z share a tender moment, caressing and embracing, signaling forgiveness after hardship.

A gathering of black women dressed in white dresses forms a circle in a historic park as Forward begins, and they hold up pictures of deceased relatives. A Mardi Gras Indian circles a dining room table, shaking a tambourine as the sequence evokes memory and solidarity.

Freedom begins with Beyoncé singing acapella on an outdoor stage at night, while other women sit under a willow tree and share a communal dinner. Winnie Harlow appears wearing a crown of thorns, adding to the vision of resilience and hope.

Black women care for themselves in a mansion as Beyoncé recites the final poem, then the footage shifts to Jay-Z's grandmother Hattie White celebrating her 90th birthday and delivering a speech about overcoming hardship. The film returns to Fort Macomb at sunset with Beyoncé in an elaborate dress, ending with footage of families and All Night as she sings, before concluding with the music video for Formation.