I Saw the TV Glow Review
A Queer Horror Masterpiece
Growing up a nice Catholic boy, I vaguely remember the parables I was taught at Sunday School. I think of The Prodigal Son or The Rich Fool. These stories are supposed to teach young kids ethical lessons or be possible warnings. Lessons that tell you not to be too envious, prideful, greedy, and overall a good human, yada yada. I Saw the TV Glow is one of the most potent and beautiful parables I've ever watched. It's an unbelievable trans/queer allegory that shows the terrible consequences you can face by denying who you are. Set in the backdrop of suburbia, late-night surreal television, and a phenomenal score by Alex G, you are in for a nightmarishly good time. Jane Schoenbrun's sophomore debut is nothing short of masterful cathartic goodness, and nothing in the year 2024 has invoked such strong feelings out of me. It's never felt so good to let go during a film and let it take over you.
I Saw the TV Glow follows two young teens in the late 90s/early 2000s as they both feel isolated but connect over their obsession with this strange and horrifying late-night show called The Pink Opaque. The show is initially painted as a stereotypical creature of the week teen drama where our magical teens must defeat the evil that vexes them in that episode. The episodes then quite quickly devolve into B-movie existential horror that seems dreamlike. The show mesmerizes our main teens, but things take quite a turn once it ends. How much of the show was real or what we imagined as kids? Is the show over, or are we trapped inside it ourselves? Are we who we think we are? These questions fill you and disorient you completely like our main protagonist as you join them on their journey of identity.
Justice Smith, who plays our introverted lead, is a revelation. The way he's able to perfectly capture the awkward and isolated time of growing up unsure of your own identity is spectacular. It's a subtle and challenging role for Smith as others try to save him, but he denies any attempt. We see their rejection and, over the movie, how it destroys them. It is to feel like you are in the wrong body, and how soul-crushing that can be. Justice is paired perfectly with the magnetic Brigette Lundy-Paine. Bridgette begins our tale as this typical dry and bratty 90s emo teen, but once they leave and triumphantly return later to proclaim themselves as new in the story, you can't take your eyes off them. The monologue they have in the school planetarium blow-up thing is one of the most intense and spiritual moments I've felt in a theater.
Schoenbrun's haunting and thrilling world they've created helps boost these performances to new heights. They work to make this dreamlike neon and eerie suburban town come to life that's perfectly theirs and visually stunning. From long walking shots from house to house to distorted cuts to the disgusting Ice Cream man in the Pink Opaque and long musical performances by the real-life artists featured on the soundtrack, the craftsmanship blew me away, and it's so cool to see a director come into their own. The film is further complimented by a score from Alex G, perfectly fitting what Schoenbrun tries to do with this dreamy and slightly distorted sad overture.
Schoenbrun tells a profound story of young isolation and yearning to be someone else in the most nuanced and unpretentious ways. The movie highlights how you can become lost, obsessed, and trapped inside by childhood nostalgia. It's wild how good it is at capturing such a specific moment in many young people's lives. I think of my childhood when I would seclude myself in my bedroom late at night during my parents' nasty divorce. I would lose myself with late-night animes and Adult Swim shows I definitely shouldn't have been watching, but they were there for me. Who knew Aqua Teen Hunger Force could have been used to cope with reality?
I Saw the TV Glow is a brilliant psychedelic and hypnotic trans/queer identity story that showed real issues of gender dysphoria and mental illness in such melancholic and beautiful ways that moved me to no end. It culminates in one of the bleakest endings I've seen in quite some time, which will confuse and break many hearts. However, this film should serve as a beautiful parable to help those looking for their true selves.
Final Score: 9/10
Quick PSA: I was very fortunate to see this at the Philly Spring Fest a few weeks ago, and I stress that you shouldn't judge this movie instantly after watching it. It took me time to understand and feel what the film was doing. It can sometimes be weird, off-putting, and bold, but you should let it breathe after viewing. Please see this when it premiers on May 17th!
Written by Kevin J. Pettit