I Saw the TV Glow operates within the context of spellbinding fascinations with hobbies and moments of connections searching for understanding and empathy. The film was written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. Schoenbrun’s direction is audacious in its grandeur and colorful revelations. The film is experimental and worthy of awards. I Saw the TV Glow made my head spin in a positive way. The film centers on a reality TV show and its impact on a set of viewers throughout their lives.One that will build connections and memories that will mesmerize the minds of its audience.
The film’s focus is on the social disconnect of its main characters in the beginning. One is a boy with this feeling namedOwen (played by Justice Smith). Owen finds love and connection to the other, his close friend Maddie (played by Brigette Lundy-Paine). They are both fixated on a TV show called The Pink Opaque. It is a reality TV show based on the supernatural. It brings Owen and Maddie closer to their hearts and their feelings of where they sense they are meant to be. Owen has always struggled with loneliness. Maddie is also disconnected, but she tolerates being an introvert. The Pink Opaque builds a certain power within Owen. One that he will carry with him for years. Ultimately, his love for Maddie and his love of the TV show is where he feels there is meaning to life.
The era of the VHS days is portrayed in this film. Looking back at the era of having to watch programs in their scheduled time brings its audience back to a more structured reality when television viewers had to plan out when to watch the shows they loved. Owen collects VHS tapes of recordings of The Pink Opaque. He says, “I watched these tapes over and over again, and they never got old.” The fascination with a TV show is just the beginning of the story in I Saw the TV Glow.
The time when technology was limited in repeated views paints a portrait of how special this show is for Owen and Maddie in the film. It creates their bond of closeness in a surreal and experimental direction. The direction is breathless. The film shines with radiance. The friendship of Owen and Maddie thrives indefinitely in correlation to their love for a show they are obsessed with together.
The direction of Schoenbrun is artistic in its creation of an atmosphere where sharing an obsession creates a euphoric world. The presence of Owen and Maddie’s relationship brings a sense of urgency to what they have shared for years. Their love for The Pink Opaque goes to the horizons of imagination with sparks of wonder. Schoenbrun knows the depths of experimental value among in exploring aspects of personalities that bind and are inspiring.
In the performance of Lundy-Paine, I saw the loving side of her wonderful aura in I Saw the TV Glow. It brought me back to her performance as Casey from the series Atypical. She has that personality where hardship in personal life is something she tolerates with a firm attitude. Her attitude is even firmer and revolutionary in I Saw the TV Glow.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? What are the chances of discovering the hidden treasures that tempt the characters in I Saw the TV Glow? This mesmerizing and in-depth trail of fear and friendship compounded by reality is off the charts. A true and surreal film that feels scientific in its search for a light of truth to the highest perception. Four out of four stars.
Movies with Tarek 