The Cinema of Harry Styles: Words, Meaning and Inspiration

Image source: Getty/James Devaney
If you’re like us, you’re already analyzing all the lyrics to “Harry’s House.” Harry Styles’ highly anticipated album, released on May 20, has already garnered an influx of attention from fans, particularly for its risque less-than-subtle lyrics and catchy beats that accompany them. Outside of being Styles’ last release since 2019’s “Fine Line,” “Harry’s House” is garnering buzz due to his relationship with Olivia Wilde, who fans haven’t quite gotten the hang of. postponed since the couple went public with their romance in January 2021.
One song, in particular, has many wondering if Styles is referring to his girlfriend and if the song itself is about Wilde. “Cinema” is a cool, funky-pop song that features lyrics detailing Styles’ love for an unnamed woman. Judging by the lyrics themselves, however, fans are pretty sure the song is an ode to Wilde. Let’s dive into the lyrics of “Cinema” and how the couple’s relationship seems to be unmistakably central to the song.
Lyrics of “Cinema” by Harry Styles
In full, the lyrics to “Cinema” read as follows:
INTRO
You have, you have the cinema
VERSE 1
It’s you
And I can’t get over it
Honey, that’s cool
If I’m stubborn when it comes to this?
I guess we’re in time
If you get wet for me
I guess you’re all mine
When you sleep in this bed with me
CHORUS
I just think you’re cool
I love your cinema
Do you think I’m cool too?
Or am I too into you?
Tell me what you want and you got it my love
I want you all, give me all you got
It’s cinema
It’s cinema, uh-huh
VERSE 2
It’s you
I don’t know why but it makes me feel so good
Something in the way you move
I like it when you dance with me (I just think it is)
You all the time (Time, time)
In doses in the evening (Night, night)
No roof over the driveway
Dust off the top
And go to sleep (Go to sleep, go to sleep)
CHORUS
I just think you’re cool
I love your cinema
Do you think I’m cool too?
Or am I too into you?
I just think you’re cool (Co-cool)
I like your cinema (cinema)
Do you think I’m cool too?
Or am I too into you? (Movie theater)
OUTRO
Movie theater
You have, you have
I bring the pop, you pop
You have, you have
I bring the pop
You have, you have the cinema
I bring pop to the cinema, you pop
You have, you have the cinema
You have, you have the cinema
I bring pop to the cinema
You burst when we get intimate
You have, you have the cinema
You have, you have the cinema (Cinema)
I bring pop to the cinema
You burst when we get intimate (Baby, you’re cinema)
You have, you have the cinema
You have, you have the cinema
I bring pop to the cinema
You burst when we get intimate (Baby, you’re cinema)
You have, you have the cinema
You have, you have the cinema
I bring pop to the cinema
You burst when we get intimate (Baby, you’re cinema)
You have, you have the cinema
You have, you have the cinema (Cinema)
I bring pop to the cinema
You burst when we get intimate
Is Harry Styles’ “Cinema” About Olivia Wilde?
Styles fans are divided on the meaning of “Cinema,” but many believe the song is about Wilde, and here’s why. The two met in 2020 when Styles started working on Wilde’s film “Don’t Worry Darling.” In the film, Styles stars as lead character Jack Chambers alongside Florence Pugh, who plays his wife, Alice. In an interview with Howard Stern on May 18, he opened up about his experience filming “Don’t Worry Darling,” telling the radio host (via The cup), “I had a wonderful experience under Olivia’s direction. Acting is sometimes a bit uncomfortable; you have to trust a lot. Being able to trust your director is a gift. It has been very helpful.”
Connecting the dots between little Styles revealed about Wilde and her acting career, the “As It Was” singer references Wilde’s acting, singing, “I just think you’re cool / I love your movies.” Styles also highlights their intense on-screen and off-screen connection with the lyrics, “Tell me what you want and you got it, my love / I want you all, gimme all you got / This is cinema.” He goes further by describing the details of their love life with the raunchy lyrics, “You got, you got the cinema / I bring the pop to the cinema / You pop when we get intimate.” Styles also dove into some NSFW lyrics about their sex life, but we’ll let you swoon.
After “Cinema” was released, Twitter users immediately shared their thoughts on the song and its meaning.
i’m a screenwriter so i choose to believe that harry style “cinema” is about me and not olivia wilde
—Summer Pleasure (@uncle_daddyy) May 20, 2022
So we are not going to talk about what cinema is – a sexual ballad – for Olivia Wilde, a filmmaker #HarrysHouseParty
– Isabel’s summary (@JimenezvIsabel) May 20, 2022
Mathilde at the cinema made us love #HarrysHouse #Harry Styles pic.twitter.com/MGQutiP738
— liha🍣 satellite stan (@motionsatellite) May 19, 2022
The exact meaning of “Cinema” has yet to be revealed by Styles himself. Judging by her many references to love and romance in “Harry’s House,” as well as her relationship with Wilde, it seems undeniable that she was, in part, the inspiration for the lyrics.
“Harry’s House” is out now, and you can catch the singer performing some of the songs from the album in a live concert on Apple Music at 9 p.m. EST on May 20.