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Released by: A24
Released on: July 30th, 2024.
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Conner O'Malley, Amber Benson, Fred Durst
Year: 2023
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I Saw The TV Glow – Movie Review:
Set in 1996, Jane Schoenbrun's film, I Saw The TV Glow, introduces us to a middle-school aged boy named Owen (Justice Smith) who lives at home with his parents, Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler) and Frank (Fred Durst – no really!), the latter of whom isn’t typically easy to get along with. Owen is intrigued by Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), she's a few years older than him and is really into a television show called The Pink Opaque, a series about two girls, Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan), linked by their psychic abilities who battle monsters will trying to track down the mysterious Mr. Melancholy. The show comes on later at night than Owen’s parents allow him to stay up, so Maddy starts taping it for him.
As Maddy introduces Owen to more of the show, he quickly learns to enjoy it himself, trying to catch episodes whenever possible, drawn to the strange supernatural events and characters that populate the show and help to create a world far more exciting than his own. This leads to Owen's friendship with Maddy intensifying as the bond over their favorite series. When Maddy threatens to run away from home and then follows through on that threat, Owen's life goes back to being mundane, leaving him alone to deal with all of the issues that come with being a young teenager.
A somewhat surreal coming of age story, I Saw The TV Glow isn’t as concerned with narrative as most films are but it compensates for this with some really impressive visuals, great use of color and interesting characters. Owen is relatable enough that we like him and feel for him as he navigates those awkward teenage years while trying to find himself and dealing with an ogre of a man for a father. His relationship with Maddy proves to be an anchor for him at first, but of course, once she vanishes from his life he’s rocked by her disappearance, and then rocked again by her return years later.
Justice Smith handles his role really well. Again, Owen is likeable, relatable and very human and this comes across believably in his performance. Brigette Lundy-Paine’s character is a little more mysterious but she too handles her performance really well, crafting an interesting character. The relationship between the two is the backbone of the film and these two talented young actors do excellent work here. The supporting players are also pretty solid, with Danielle Deadwyler doing a very nice job as Owen’s sympathetic and caring mother and, surprisingly, Fred Durst really nailing it as his very difficult father.
What really sells the movie, however, are the visuals. There imagery and use of color that Schoenbrun and company manage to capture here is impressive, from the opening shot in which we see neon chalk on a darkened suburban nighttime street to the first shot we see of Owen bathed in the rays of a cathode tube set to a scene where he’s in school playing with his classmates under a parachute all the way to how the live music sequences in the movie are framed. The visuals on the picture really pull you into the movie, as Schoenbrun explores concepts of love, loss, maturity, growth and adulthood in interesting ways. It definitely feels Lynchian at times, and Schoenbrun’s knack for choosing interesting music to set their film to stands out, but the director puts their own spin on things and creates something both captivating and unique.
I Saw The TV Glow – Blu-ray Review:
A24 brings I Saw The TV Glow to Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. While some will no doubt lament the absence of a UHD option for this release, the Blu-ray does indeed look very good. The film’s interesting color scheme is very nicely reproduced here and we get deep, solid black levels and accurate looking skin tones throughout. Shot digitally, there are obviously no problems to note with print damage or grain and the disc is well-authored, keeping compression artifacts away. No problems to note here, the movie looks excellent.
Audio chores are handled by an English language Dolby Atmos mix. English SDH, English Descriptive Audio and Spanish subtitles are all provided. Audio quality is also excellent, with the surround channels used, sometimes very subtly, to help build mood. The live music scenes really stand out, with the rear channels kicking in very effectively while the soundtrack really kicks with some tight bass response. Dialogue always sounds clean and clear and is always easy to follow. As you’d expect for such a recent film, there are no problems with any hiss, distortion or sibilance.
The main extra is a commentary with Jane Schoenbrun and Brigette Lundy-Paine that goes over the making of the film with a good sense of humor. They start off with an amusing rant of sorts about physical media and Amazon before where some of the ideas for the movie came from, locations that used for different scenes, what was shot in one-take, the editing process, why some of the deleted scenes included on the disc weren't used in the finished version of the movie, influences that worked their way into the film, working with the different cast members, memories of shooting specific scenes, how the film deals with obsession, how Lundy-Paine got into character for the production, how nineties TV shaped certain parts of the movie, some of the metaphors and symbolism in the film, Lundy-Paine's initial thoughts on the script and lots more.
The disc also includes a selection of deleted scenes and an eleven minute featurette included here titled Ear Worms: The Anthems, Tributes, And Testaments Of I Saw The TV Glow. Made up of interviews with Schoenbrun and a few different cast and crew members, there’s lots of talk here about trying to get the nineties look and feel down, the use of music in the film, some of the themes that the film explores, what it was like working together on the set, the influence of nineties TV shows,
Included inside the digibox packaging along with the disc is a selection of six postcard sized, Polaroid-style inserts containing some nice promotional photographs.
I Saw The TV Glow - The Final Word:
I Saw The TV Glow won’t be to all tastes but for those with an affection for surrealism and oddball coming of age stories will find a lot to like here. The performances are really strong across the board and the visuals are legitimately excellent. The Blu-ray edition from A24 looks and sounds great and it contains some solid extra features as well. Recommended.