I Saw the TV Glow

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I Saw the TV Glow
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJane Schoenbrun
Written byJane Schoenbrun
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEric K. Yue
Edited bySofi Marshall
Music byAlex G
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • January 18, 2024 (2024-01-18) (Sundance)
  • May 3, 2024 (2024-05-03) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.5 million[2][3]

I Saw The TV Glow is a 2024 American analog psychological horror drama film written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It stars Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, with Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, Conner O'Malley, Emma Portner, Ian Foreman, Fred Durst, and Danielle Deadwyler in supporting roles. The film follows two troubled young friends whose connection to their favorite television show drives them to question their reality and identities. Emma Stone and Dave McCary served as producers under their Fruit Tree banner.

I Saw The TV Glow premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024. It was given a limited theatrical release by A24 in the United States on May 3, 2024, with its theatrical release expanding to Canada and nationwide in the USA on May 17. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1996, Owen, an isolated seventh grader, meets Maddy, a lesbian ninth grader, when he notices her reading an episode guide for the young adult show The Pink Opaque. The show follows teenagers Isabel and Tara as they use their psychic connection to fight monsters sent by the recurring villain, Mr. Melancholy. Owen sneaks over to Maddy's to watch a new episode with her and her friend Amanda, finding himself captivated by it.

Two years later, Owen's mother Brenda is terminally ill and Maddy has been ostracized at school after a rumor that she grabbed Amanda's breast. With Owen unable to watch the show live due to his bedtime curfew and his father Frank deriding it as "for girls," Maddy tapes the episodes for him to watch later. Owen goes to her house to watch a new episode, noticing her cry while watching the episode. Maddy explains that she has resolved to run away to escape her abusive stepfather and draws the symbol that connects Isabel and Tara on the back of his neck. She invites Owen to join her, but he loses his nerve and stays. Maddy vanishes soon after, while at the same time, The Pink Opaque is cancelled after five seasons.

In 2006, Owen still lives with Frank and works at a local movie theater. Maddy reappears one night and takes Owen to a bar outside of town that is also a location in The Pink Opaque. She tells him that she disappeared into the show itself, prompts him to remember the show's finale, and to meet up the next night at their high school after he has done so. In that last episode, Isabel and Tara have their hearts removed by Mr. Melancholy, are fed his poisonous "luna juice", and then buried alive. The episode's ending suggests to Owen that he is a dying Isabel, and with the closing credits appearing on the TV screen, Owen panics and shoves his head through the screen. Frank pulls him out of the broken TV set and forces him to wash himself, while Owen screams "You're not my real father! This isn't my home!" and vomits luna juice.

The next night, Maddy explains to Owen that after leaving, the feelings of isolation and falsehood she felt at home followed her to Phoenix, Arizona, where she got a job at a shopping mall, so she paid a man to bury her alive. After suffocating, she awoke in The Pink Opaque as Tara, her real self. She claims they are currently in Mr. Melancholy's "midnight realm", a deceptive world where time passes quickly. After being unable to find where Isabel was buried in The Pink Opaque, Maddy has returned to save Owen before he suffocates. She urges Owen to bury himself with her in order to start season six as Isabel, but he loses his nerve again and runs home. He never sees Maddy after that night and is haunted by the possibility he is meant to have a different life.

Frank dies of a stroke a few years later and Owen stays in the house, claiming to the audience that he has settled down and started a family. He works at a family entertainment center and rediscovers The Pink Opaque on a streaming service, but finds it to be cheesier and more childish than he remembers. Twenty years later, he still works at the center and has grown miserable and physically weaker due to his worsening asthma. During a birthday party at the center, he breaks down, screams that he is dying, and begs for his mother to save him, which seems to cause everyone at the party to freeze. He locks himself in the bathroom and cuts his chest open, smiling as he sees a glowing TV screen inside. He returns outside, apologizing to the indifferent guests for his breakdown and saying that it has been caused by his new medication.

Cast

Appearing as themselves in the film are Phoebe Bridgers, Haley Dahl and their band Sloppy Jane, as well as Kristina Esfandiari and her band King Woman.

Themes

"'TV Glow' is about something I think a lot of trans people understand [...] The tension between the space that you exist within, which feels like home, and the simultaneous terror and liberation of understanding that that space might not be able to hold you in your true form. I think many people, even if they are sympathetic to narratives of biological-family estrangement, still want to believe in resolution or restorative reparative work. And I think this does a disservice to queer people who are not in control of whether that work can be done."

Jane Schoenbrun, interviewed by Holden Seidlitz of The New Yorker[4]

Lundy-Paine cited I Saw the TV Glow as an allegory for being transgender.[5] In a June 2024 profile of themselves published in The New Yorker, Schoenbrun described their intended meaning of the film as "something I think a lot of trans people understand", in particular citing Owen's choice to not bury himself alive with Maddy and ultimate existential crisis as emblematic of their personal fears of potentially living out their life without having transitioned.[4]

Production

Schoenbrun began work on the script for I Saw the TV Glow three months after they had begun undergoing hormone replacement therapy, amid what they described as "overwhelming calamity" following having come out as transgender. In featuring the transgender themes, Schoenbrun deliberately avoided making transitioning or coming out explicitly central to the plot, opting instead to write the story as an allegory so as to distinguish it from other films on the topic.[4]

In 2021, the script caught the attention of Emma Stone and her husband Dave McCary, who, according to Schoenbrun, "fell in love with the script immediately." The script was shopped around to six potential production partners.[4] In October 2021, the film was announced as an A24 production, with Schoenbrun directing and Stone and McCary producing under their production company Fruit Tree.[6] In August 2022, it was announced Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Helena Howard, Danielle Deadwyler, Amber Benson, Ian Foreman, Michael Maronna, Conner O'Malley, Emma Portner, Danny Tamberelli, Phoebe Bridgers, Lindsey Jordan, Fred Durst, Haley Dahl, Jonathan Chacko, and Kristina Esfandiari had joined the cast.[7][8]

Principal photography took place in New Jersey from July to August 2022.[9][10][11] Shooting took place at Verona High School, Cedar Grove High School and Keansburg Amusement Park. Other notable locations were the music venue The Saint and Camp Lewis.[11]

Music

Main articles: I Saw the TV Glow (soundtrack) and I Saw the TV Glow (score)

The film's original score was composed by Alex G. The film features an original soundtrack that includes songs from Caroline Polachek, Sloppy Jane, Phoebe Bridgers, Kristina Esfandiari, Florist, yeule, and Drab Majesty among others. The soundtrack was released on May 10, 2024, followed by Alex's score which was released on May 16.[12]

Release

I Saw the TV Glow premiered in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024.[13] It also screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section on February 20, 2024[14] and South by Southwest on March 10, 2024.[15][16]

The film was released in select theaters in the United States on May 3, 2024 (playing in New York and Los Angeles),[17] with its release expanding nationwide and to Canada on May 17.[18] It was made available digitally in June 2024.[19]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 170 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "With a distinctive visual aesthetic that enhances its emotionally resonant narrative, I Saw the TV Glow further establishes writer-director Jane Schoenbrun as a rising talent."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[21]

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote, "This is both promising psychodrama fodder on its own terms, and of a piece with the particular fixations Schoenbrun has established across their small oeuvre thus far".[22] David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote, "Schoenbrun's astonishing second feature manages to retain the seductive fear of their micro-budget debut and deepen its thrilling wounds of discovery even while examining them at a much larger scale".[23] Some reviewers also praised the film for the authenticity and subtlety with which it conveyed transgender themes, with Richard Brody for The New Yorker calling it "a profound vision of the trans experience" and Veronica Esposito for The Guardian saying it "speaks to '90s trans teens".[24][25]

Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times described the film as a "collection of leaden scenes that might make the audience want to claw out of its own skin", noting that it "invents a new emotion: passionate ambivalence."[26] Nicolas Rapold of Sight & Sound agreed, writing "There's the awed sense of a blueprint or roadmap that is insisted upon without entirely being executed and fulfilled" adding "[it] is a collection...of sequences and moments more than a fully realised whole."[27] Dylan Roth of Observer acknowledged this tension, noting "My challenge with I Saw the TV Glow is that almost everything I dislike about it is done on purpose, and effectively. As a piece of art, I can’t deny that it works."[28]

References

  1. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 9, 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Seidlitz, Holden (June 10, 2024). "Jane Schoenbrun Finds Horror Close to Home". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  5. ^ Dick, Jeremy (May 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow Stars Address Trans Allegories of A24 Film". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 7, 2021). "A24 And Emma Stone's Fruit Tree Banner Reunite On Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw The TV Glow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (August 24, 2022). "Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine Starring in A24 Horror Thriller I Saw the TV Glow (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2022). "Phoebe Bridgers and Helena Howard Join Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw the TV Glow at A24". IndieWire. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Schoenbrun, Jane (July 12, 2022). "It's real!! We are making an @A24 movie this summer!!". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Schoenbrun, Jane (August 17, 2022). "That's a wrap :-)". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Kuperinsky, Amy (February 28, 2024). "See trailer for I Saw the TV Glow, an A24 horror movie filmed in N.J." NJ.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  12. ^ Keates, Emma (April 25, 2024). "A24 shares new song from stellar I Saw The TV Glow soundtrack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  14. ^ Ntim, Zac (December 14, 2023). "Berlin: Saoirse Ronan, Danielle Deadwyler & Paapa Essiedu Titles Set For Panorama Sidebar". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow, SXSW 2024 Schedule". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 7, 2024). "SXSW 2024 Second Wave Includes Pics With Sydney Sweeney, Nicolas Cage, Camila Mendes & 'Monkey Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (February 28, 2024). "'I Saw the TV Glow' Trailer: Jane Schoenbrun Channels David Lynch and Late-Night Cable Nightmares for A24 Horror Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  18. ^ I Saw The TV Glow [@tvglowmovie] (April 19, 2024). "Follow the glow 📺 Jane Schoenbrun's groundbreaking horror #ISawTheTVGlow opens in NY/LA theaters May 3, nationwide May 17. Get tickets now" (Tweet). Retrieved April 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Egan, Toussaint (June 14, 2024). "Netflix's Ultraman: Rising, I Saw the TV Glow, and every movie new to streaming this week". Polygon. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  20. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 15, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  21. ^ "I Saw the TV Glow". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  22. ^ Lodge, Guy (January 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow Review: Jane Schoenbrun's Eerie Ode to Adolescent Television Obsessions". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  23. ^ Ehrlich, David (January 19, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow Review: Jane Schoenbrun's Second Feature Is a Haunting Look at What We See in Our Media". IndieWire. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  24. ^ Brody, Richard (May 3, 2024). "'I Saw the TV Glow' Is a Profound Vision of the Trans Experience". The New Yorker.
  25. ^ Esposito, Veronica (May 4, 2024). "Nostalgia horror I Saw the TV Glow speaks to 90s trans teens like me". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Nicholson, Amy (May 2, 2024). "Review: 'I Saw the TV Glow' gets stranded in a glum gaze from which it never stirs". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  27. ^ Rapold, Nicolas (January 30, 2024). "I Saw the TV Glow: a rough portrait of fanatical obsession". Sight and Sound. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  28. ^ Roth, Dylan (May 6, 2024). "'I Saw the TV Glow' Review: Moody, Interesting, No Fun". Observer. Retrieved June 16, 2024.

External links

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