I Saw the TV Glow - Review

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I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Jane Schoenbrun‘s 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow seems to be one of the most polarizing films of the year. Included on many best of the year thus far lists while also boasting a low IMDB score above a litany of disappointed reviews demonstrates just how mixed the response to the film has been. Heading in I was not sure what to expect, the premise of two people connecting over a TV Show seemed like the ideal plotline to hook someone who fixates on entertainment, as this publication can attest to, but the experience of watching the movie proved to be much more than just good enough to keep me paying attention.

The movie primarily centres around two characters, Owen (played by Justice Smith) and Maddy (played by Bridgette Lundy-Paine) who despite their age difference form a deep friendship which evolves out of their shared interest in a TV Show. The series which they are so preoccupied with seems not all that dissimilar from Buffy the Vampire Slayer given the 90’s setting, teenage label and marketing which work to hide a darker thematic show, along with the font style of the credits which seem to be a clear tribute to BTVS. To add to the fanfare Amber Benson, who played my favourite BTVS character Tara, makes a brief appearance in the film. All of that is to say that the film piles on the 90’s nostalgia which is sure to make anyone who continues to return to the great shows of that era or who loved the VCR revolution of being able to record and rewatch whatever you want feel at home.

A lot of the time I feel like I keep coming back to the same topic in my reviews, that being a discussion about what feels authentic. Here, I was able to identify with the two main characters which as a viewer raised my suspension of disbelief given that I felt invested in their lives given that I could see pieces of myself in them. Maddy with her obsessive nature which leads her to memorize trivial details of a late night and much overlooked show along with Owen’s introverted nature. That moment in the film which really struck a chord with me was the moment where Maddy asks Owen if is interested in the opposite or the same sex and he responds by saying that he isn’t sure aside from the fact that he likes TV Shows which to me felt like the perfect response to anyone who would dare ask such a question to an introvert. Both Justice and Brigette give masterful performances as well so I am sure that even if they feel much unlike yourself you will still see the humanity ooze through their scene stealing and yet understated performances.

Schoenbrun’s direction here is both innovative and deeply compelling. Though the movie is highly stylized in terms of including vivid colour, fourth wall breaking dialogue, and graphic depictions of outlandish 90’s TV special effects none of it is done in a way which takes you out of the story or such that it became a distraction. Since the story is so rich, and the dialogue so natural and the characters given so much room to operate none of the surreal or hyper realistic elements of the movie become overwhelming. Instead, all of those beautiful hues and incredible practical effects worked to elevate the rich narrative. The movie felt at times quite similar to David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983) in that both highlight the grip our televisions have on us and utilized body horror. Videodrome explored a future where technology and humans combined to form a new form of truth while here cathode-ray tubes delivered a respite to two persons who feel trapped and abandoned by reality.

High school is the worst, but also the best. I Saw the TV Glow highlighted what those awkward years are like as someone who struggles to fit in but at the same time has a niche group of friends who share a similar interest. Seeing that both Owen and Maddy sort of operate against the current, and are overlooked by those around them, worked to demonstrate how their shared interest in a show is not just a vehicle that advances their relationship but also the means by which they find purpose in a world which has looked past them.

As the movie goes on Owen is shown to be stuck in a loop of isolation and disappointment. As a boy and teenager he was controlled by his mother which restricted his ability to interact with others such that by never being able to form any real bonds in his youth he was destined to be left alone in adulthood. At the same time when we are shown a long take of him wondering the halls of his high school, where he is free from his mother’s observation and control, no one rushes up to meet him, kids in their own small groups look the other way, such that the audience can see that even if he were free from his mother’s overbearing parentage it would probably only lead to him existing in a larger world which also rejects him.

The movie offers a bleak resolution to where a life of rejection and solitude ends which I am going to spoil here so avoid continuing on if you do not want to hear it. Both Maddy and Owen are shown to suffer a mental break though for differing reasons. Maddy is shown to cling to the past to the extent that she is seen living in a delusion where she thinks Owen and her are the characters from the show they used to watch which, even though it was cancelled, she believes will be returning for another season. After Owen rejects her invitation to live in a purposeful, yet fictitious, reality he goes back to his lonely life. As the years go by he is shown to not be advancing in his career, failing to form any meaningful relationships, nor finding any reason to live aside from not wanting to end things. Eventually he decides to rewatch that show which meant so much to him only to find that it has aged poorly in that neither the effects, writing, nor direction hold up which make him feel embarrassed for ever having invested so much time and effort into the series.

The film also offers brief glimpses of Owen trying on women’s clothes while in Maddy’s basement where they would watch the show as kids alluding to the fact that their interest in the show, and budding friendship, created an environment where he felt free to explore those aspects of himself which the rest of the world and the people in it made him feel unable to do so. Thus, as he is shown the reality of what that show was and feels embarrassed there is a deeper message in that Owen might also be feeling a sort of regret for ever having explored his true nature which he is now rejecting out of shame. Not long after this Owen falls apart and screams manically at the same job he had as a young man whereupon everyone else seems to freeze in place as he does. After retreating to the bathroom he carves open his chest which reveals a bright light similar to that of the glow of a television. Returning to his job after his emotional breakdown he desperately tries to apologize to those around him to which no one responds or seems to care demonstrating that even at his breaking point he is being ignored. Though the show, and his friendship that came about as a result, offered him an outlet to feel joy and be himself the cancellation of it proved to halt all of his growth since there was no other place for him to be himself.

To me I Saw the TV Glow offers an interesting take on how we should look at life. To me Owen and Maddy represent the extremes by which people can view life as either realists or optimists. To see life exactly as it is with no hope of improving, as Owen does, would be depressing while pretending that you are happy with everything that has happened while deluding yourself into thinking it’s only up from here, as Maddy does, also seems like a recipe for disaster. Additionally, I Saw the TV Glow showcases how the stories people tell can work as more than entertainment and create something for people to talk about, connect over, and grow as a human being.

Loneliness is an epidemic. There are people you will meet who will mean more to you than you ever did to them. You may have opinions that no one else shares. I Saw the TV Glow explores the lives of two people experiencing that sense of abandonment, rejection, and isolation who come together by a shared interest and later drift apart as a result of one not being able to accept change while the other is incapable of growing. Though the movie is incredibly dark I still feel that it is worth recommending since I believe that it will resonate with people who can relate to these characters while also offering those who cannot a glimpse into what that sort of life is like.