I Saw the TV Glow

I Saw the TV Glow speaks so powerfully to the curse of denial that the words “there is still time”, scrubbed in chalk on a suburban street, can have an almost magical effect on the viewer.

What’s most effective, and staggering, is Schoenbrun’s storytelling, which weaves together half-remembered childhood elements in the way they might turn up in a nightmare, weaving in sounds and lights and colors and the gloriously inexplicable.

Entertaining yet depressing, surreal yet too real, frustrating yet somehow cathartic, "I Saw the TV Glow" leaves such a strong impression that it's hard to stop thinking about it days after seeing it.

Such an original and disturbing and haunting and creatively outrageous piece of work that it refuses to drift from your conscience.

Congratulations, Gen-Z, you’ve just been handed your new midnight-movie obsession.

Something about the detail and clarity with which Jane Schoenbrun evokes ’90s suburbia in “I Saw the TV Glow” makes you remember growing up there — even if you didn’t.

The film is a mesmeric but frequently muddled exploration of transgender self-actualization.

I completely loved everything this film managed to do. To be so unrelentingly bleak and brutal, and still endlessly hopeful, to have all these layers and interconnected pieces of the human experience resonate in exactly the perfect frequencies with each other, is a massive accomplishment. Probably my favourite film that I've seen all year.

I Saw the TV Glow is a film that left me teetering on the edge of indecision. As the credits rolled, I grappled with a simple yet profound question: Was this the best or worst film of the year? Ultimately, I realised that the film’s impact was more complex than a binary judgment could capture. Some films aren’t universally accessible—not due to their themes, but because of the unique methods they use to explore those themes. This film, with its unique methods, is a prime example. I watched I Saw the TV Glow as the London Trans Pride March passed by the cinema. The energy and sense of community from the march stood in stark contrast to the isolated, introspective experience of the film. This juxtaposition heightened my appreciation for the film’s profound exploration of identity and perception, engaging me even more in the film’s unconventional narrative device. The concept of a programme within the film was a bold narrative choice. While I enjoyed this exploration, I needed help to stay engaged. The layers of storytelling, while intellectually stimulating, often felt like a barrier rather than a bridge to understanding the characters and their journeys. Despite this, there’s a particular brilliance in the film’s willingness to challenge its audience. I Saw the TV Glow dares to push boundaries and provoke thought, even if it alienates some viewers. Its daring narrative choices and thought-provoking themes make it a cinematic revelation for those who can embrace its idiosyncrasies. For others, like myself, it’s easier to admire from a distance than to fully embrace. I Saw the TV Glow may not be a film for everyone, and that’s precisely its strength and weakness. It defies easy categorisation, demanding both attention and patience. Whether it’s the best or worst film of the year is a question I’m still pondering, but perhaps that’s the point. It’s a film meant to linger in the mind and be debated and dissected long after the screen darkens.

The marketing and ads for this picture are misleading – this is not a horror movie, nor a comedy, nor a drama. It's a creepy 90s tone piece about how nostalgia mixed with societal alienation can hijack one's connection to their true identity. If your mind went blank during that last sentence, you probably will hate this film. Everyone else will be **** into its claustrophobic world of half-remembered nightmares.

I didn't care, i didn't understand what was happening, and i didn't want to know, it feels like they tried too hard to create this bizarre, almost psychedelic story about two individuals developing anbunusual obsession with this terrible-looking and uninteresting TV show called Pink Opaque, unfortunately, their efforts did not work at all, as i found it to be absolutely stupid, dumb, and boring, whatever deep metaphor or meaningful message they were trying to convey just didn't resonate, and the reason behind the characters obsession especially Maddy's deep connection to the show simply didn't translate well at all, it's nice to see Brigette Lundy-Paine again after one of my favorite Netflix show Atypical, but Justice Smith has never been a particularly appealing actor for me, ultimately, this film felt like a failed experiment, confusing, pretentious, and desperate to be a "weird cool" movie, but it just didn't work, it's easily one of the worst films of the year.

The film was boring and self indulgent. Did I miss something or everything? Did research. Read glowing article on the director in The New Yorker. Went to Metacritic and the score is 86! Read New York Times review of 100! I still feel it was boring and do not recommend.