I SAW THE TV GLOW
***
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun.
Starring Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman.
Horror, US, 100 minutes, Certificate 15.
Released in cinemas in the UK by Park Circus on July 26th
The term “cult film” is thrown about with abandon these days, whether by over eager producers and promoters attempting to garner some cultural cache for their film or by bedazzled critics and audiences blindsided by anything slightly out of the ordinary or mainstream. The majority of cult films take their time, garnering their small, fiercely appreciative audiences over time but every now and again there is that rare film that seems to make an instant connection with an audience. It seems that with their second feature I SAW THE TV GLOW, Jane Schoenbrun has struck a similar and even more intensely personal chord with an audience that will no doubt grow even more in the years to come with its melding of angst-ridden allegorical storytelling and millennial nostalgia.
Beginning in 1996, we meet Owen, a lonely and awkward boy who strikes up a tentative friendship with Maddy, an older girl who eagerly shares her obsession for The Pink Opaque; a late night tv show where two teenage girls unite psychically every week to battle various supernatural creatures. As the years pass and the pair slowly begin to open up to each other about their true natures, Owen is left alone and reeling when Maddy suddenly disappears and The Pink Opaque is cancelled without warning. As Owen looks for answers, the past comes crashing back into his life leading Owen to question not only his identity but reality also.
Schoenbraun’s use and handling of allegory playing into the story itself comes across skilfully and never heavy handed. A less charitable view could be had by some that it is all a bit obvious and maybe played out in such glum fashion. However it seems that Schoenbraun is aiming for something more than a triumphant coming out storyline, instead zeroing in on the sudden realisation of ageing and the tragic suffocation of a self-imposed denial leading to a melancholy emptiness that no amount of nostalgic yearning can fill..
There was already promise of a distinctive talent in Schoenbrun’s low budget debut WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR. It is safe to say that it fully blooms here in a highly satisfying fashion. Their script and direction displays a sure hand on a number of levels, managing to pack a lot into its one hundred minute running time. Whether it is the amusingly bang-on recreation of mid-90’s low budget genre television or the Lynchian perception of suburbia with its surreal darkness bleeding in from the edges or the unnerving imagery that at times manages to combine these two aspects to great effect.
Justice Smith also impresses here with his quiet performance of Owen. Far more sympathetic and nuanced than the more light hearted fare he has been known for until now this is a sympathetic and quite shattering rendering of a quiet, fearful soul yearning for another life. What he accomplishes here, along with the equally impressive performance of Brigitte Lundy-Paine as Maddy, under Schoenbrun’s distinct and empathetic voice cements this film's immediate cult status as fully deserved.
Iain MacLeod
