We’ve all had our favourite TV shows growing up.
For me, I’d frequently become lost in the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls or even the newer Stranger Things. To others, these TV shows might just have been simple entertainment, or for some, escapism. But regardless of genres or how long these series would last, their stories hold an important place in our hearts to this very day. Maybe even a little too important a place in some cases…
In 1996, Owen (Justice Smith) was in the 7th grade. A cripplingly shy child, Owen neither sought connections or independence. Still, he found himself drawn to classmate Maddy (Bridget’s Lundy-Paine), thanks to her overwhelming love for the late-night teen fantasy TV show, ‘The Pink Opaque’ – a long running series telling the adventures of two teen girls in their battle against the supernatural henchmen of a fiendish ‘Mr Melancholy’. Week after week, Maddy and Owen share their love of this show but little else, the two finding this fictional world more real than their own. Until one day, when Maddy disappears without a trace at the same time their favourite show is cancelled. Coincidence?
Owen grows into adulthood but never into manhood, a prisoner of the suburbs alone and forgotten. But suddenly Maddy returns with a wild story and for Owen, his joy in being reunited with his only friend is short lived. Maddy isn’t “Maddy” anymore and perhaps she never was. In that pale glow of the television week after week, were they ACTUALLY watching a TV show or were they experiencing something else? Owen always felt like the main character in his own story but maybe there’s more to that than he ever thought. Reality itself begins to crack and Maddy tells Owen if he wants to discover who he truly is, he needs to let go of everything he holds dear.
This sophomore film from Jane Schoenbrun is another stylish dramatic horror from the filmmaker. Much like their debut We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow looks at our life’s choices and the terror which comes from them. This is presented again through the lens of our obsession with pop culture and mindless entertainment.
I’m of a similar age to Schoenbrun and feel that I know exactly where they’re coming from with this film’s references. As a child of the 90s, I too fell into the tempting glow of several movies and TV shows, wishing to escape my own humdrum high school existence. There’s an almost universal understanding of this effect however, rather than simply wishing to escape our problems, these creative works help us through.
Narratively, I (as well as the film’s trailers) may have made the film’s plot appear more intelligible than it really is. The story appears much more Lovecraftian at first glance as two characters begin to lose their grips on reality and feel the need to ‘wake up’. The story is much slower and more abstract in its presentation, dealing with an inner turmoil more than an outside threat.
Schoenbrun has made no secret of the influences of their own journey with gender identity in this film and its plain to see. As an allegory, Schoenbrun‘s script lays this on so thick it’s difficult to take any other meaning from the film which narrows its scope. Despite this, I Saw the TV Glow remains a fascinating window into the issues transgender teens have growing up.
Schoenbrun mixes feelings of nostalgia with hypnotic rhythm thanks to the wonderful soundtrack consisting of many of their favourite indie bands making appearances, as well as several cameos from the teenage stars of the 90s. It’s clear this is a work of great personal importance to Jane.
The sense of dread and uncertainty is also very real, as Owen is terrified of what coming out of his shell might mean. Smith and Lundy-Paine carry much of the film on their shoulders with this really being a two person show, Lundy-Paine perhaps having a greater showing by playing a woman at 3 different ages of life and having several powerful monologues throughout. It does fall into the old adage of “show don’t tell” but even still Lundy-Paine is able to sell these scenes with her performance alone.
I came out of I Saw the TV Glow realising that it was a very different type of movie than the one I expected going in. While limited in its focus, it’s a well-crafted and imaginative film from one of the new visionaries of horror cinema, featuring very different performances from two very gifted young actors.
I Saw the TV Glow was previously screened as part of the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival and will have a limited release in cinemas from August 29.