It stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien as a romantic couple whose up-and-down relationship ultimately falls apart, compounded by their age gap.

Swift cited the works of Barbara Stanwyck, John Cassavetes, and Noah Baumbach as artistic influences upon the film.

[2] A literary quote from the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda—"Love is so short, forgetting is so long", from his poem "Puedo Escribir Los Versos"—opens the film.

Their relationship takes a turn at a dinner party, where Him ignores his girlfriend with a hand gesture, as he is busy catching up with his friends, making Her uncomfortable.

[19] Stranger Things director Shawn Levy makes a cameo appearance as the father of Sink's character in the short film.

[25][26] The teaser featured a vintage car driving down on a quiet road surrounded by autumnal trees, as well as the names of the cast members.

[29] The film's world premiere took place on November 13 at the AMC Theatres in Lincoln Square, New York City[30] with handpicked fans among those who attended.

[42] Variety's Ramin Setoodeh dubbed the short film "a music video on steroids meets a Noah Baumbach movie".

[2] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone called it a "dramatic and moving" film that "digs deep into heartache and scarf lore".

[43] Rhian Daly of NME said the film underscores "the emotional power of [Swift's] storytelling" with "devastating cinematography" and "electric performances" by Sink and O'Brien.

[44] Collider's Ryan Louis Mantilla reported that "Sink and O'Brien bring Swift's characters to life with vividly emotional performances telling an incredibly moving tale of love, power, gaslighting, and heartache in the 15-minute film.

"[45] Karl Quinn, in his review for The Sydney Morning Herald, complimented the "gorgeously cliched Notebook-style" screenplay, Swift's direction, and the "finely tuned" performances of Sink and O'Brien.

"[46] In USA Today, Patrick Ryan wrote that the film was "operatic in its emotions and scope" and felt the argument scene was "particularly gut-wrenching".

[47] Billboard's Paul Grein also praised the argument, saying the writing in the scene is "so vivid that it's easy to see Swift winning an Oscar for screenwriting one day".

[5] Laura Coates, publishing on RogerEbert.com, commended Swift's direction, the "meticulous lighting and eye for production design", Yang's camerawork, and the "electric" chemistry between Sink and O'Brien.

[64] iHeartRadio called it a "cultural sensation", and the short film also invited "Oscar buzz",[65][66][67][68] Google searches of Sink and O'Brien reached an all-time high upon its release.

[71] The Department of English of the Queen's University at Kingston, a public research university in Ontario, Canada, offers a fall semester course titled "Taylor Swift's Literary Legacy (Taylor's Version)", with a syllabus requiring students to analyze many of Swift's works, such as All Too Well: The Short Film, to understand their literary references and sociopolitical relevance in contemporary culture.

[73][74] In December 2022, Searchlight Pictures announced that Swift has written an original script and will direct her debut feature film; details about the cast, plot, and title were withheld "until a later date".