A24 has brought us a reality-bending film that’s packed to the gills with 90s nostalgia and modern arthouse references. I Saw The TV Glow directed by Jane Schoenbrun follows two teenagers, Owen and Maddie who feel like the oddballs of their generation. They are those puzzle pieces that just don’t fit. They are two individuals that struggle to accept and understand their respective identities at a time where societal expectations were largely intolerant of the unconventional.
Owen and Maddie, played by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, differ in their coping mechanisms. As the isolation of being different becomes unbearable, Owen responds by repressing who he is out of fear while Maddie brings a tougher, more standoffish exterior to her battles. Their lifeline through it all is The Pink Opaque, a fictional TV show set within this film’s narrative. The show within a show follows two characters named Isabelle and Tara who fight a villain named Mr. Melancholy, who happens to be the personification of depression and anxiety.
What becomes clear as the film progresses is the importance director Jane Schoenbrun places on symbolism to convey the film’s true message. The Pink Opaque, whose symbols and metaphors can be interpreted as the “opaque layers” we as individuals present to the world, speaks to the pieces of ourselves that exist only in the inner recesses of our being; all of those parts not seen by anyone but us.
Here, the “glow” of the TV feels like the light at the end of the tunnel, bringing a feel of distant optimism to the otherwise repressive and dark world in which Owen and Maddie reside.
This film projects a sense of a haunting dread that’s drenched in a purple glow. There is a brilliant slow-burn that takes its time to place the building blocks, over a somewhat fluid narrative, across its 100 minute runtime. This gives the film a melancholic, cold, and repressive atmosphere in which Owen and Maddie see their lives and the world around them. Drifting between reality and dream-like sequences, the narrative unfolds as a kind of longing escapism in which both characters slip through, merely glimpsing an idealized world of their own.
I Saw The TV Glow is an indie gem and undoubtedly one for the cinephiles. That being said, your everyday audience, walking into this film cold, knowing as little as possible about its narrative, is sure to be in for a trippy, nostalgic ride that will leave them pleasantly perplexed as the end credits roll.
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