Title: I Saw the TV Glow
MPA Rating: PG-13
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Starring: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

What It Is: Owen (Smith) was a young teenager when he tried to bond with fellow teenager Maddy (Lundy-Paine) over her favorite show, The Pink Opaque. Owen secretly watches it, sometimes with Maddy. When Maddy mysteriously disappears and just as mysteriously reappears, it changes Owen’s entire life. His memories of youth and his curiosity about the reasons behind the mysterious cancellation of his favorite show drive him to search for answers. What he finds may or may not be what he’s looking for.

What We Think: This film lives and dies on Justice Smith’s beautiful, subtle performance. He’s exceptional, displaying a range of emotions that I don’t think I’ve ever seen from him before. Brigette Lundy-Paine is a mystery, and a complicated one at that. It’s their enigmatic nature that brings the intrigue, but what keeps you locked in is director Jane Schoenbrun’s writing. I’ll admit the film lost me at certain points, especially narratively, but nonetheless, the writing is well done. Schoenbrun put a lot of herself into this, and the identity crisis at the film’s core, coupled with the familial disconnect, speaks to her own personal struggles. This is, of course, an estimation, and I have no facts to back that up. Everything here is subtle and beautiful. Whatever you see visually can be interpreted in many different ways, and the most interesting thing might be that I don’t think any potential answers are wrong.

Our Grade: B+, This is a full stop and phenomenally crafted piece. Even if I’m probably not the intended audience, I can appreciate the filmmaking Schoenbrun brings here. Her previous film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is similar in this way. It also has a unique visual style, like its predecessor. Isolationism is another trait of both films—the loneliness felt from simply being a teenager. I cannot recommend this more highly. I just wish I had understood it more. That isn’t to take away from the brilliance of the filmmaking, even if I got lost in the plot more often than not.