Rent I Saw the TV Glow on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Jane Schoenbrun
Directed by: Jane Schoenbrun
Starring: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Fred Durst, Danny Tamberelli, Michael C. Maronna
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two teenagers bond over their love of a supernatural TV show that was mysteriously cancelled.
Verdict
I like the premise, exploring a television show from your past and the bond the love for a fiction creates. Ultimately this is about how someone sees themselves and how society and even their family constrains them. The movie is a bit obtuse, and while I don't mind it leaving questions open, this leaves a few too many. Instead of completing the metaphor, even that is left open. This doesn't discuss the feelings and motives of the characters and build on that, I'm left wondering if I'm guessing the metaphor correctly. Scenes towards the end feel like their intention is just to generate questions rather than build on the themes and generate discussion. This movie could and should have explored so much more.
Skip it.
Review
Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) bond over the fictional television show The Pink Opaque. The show seems to be a teen focused supernatural show. Owen's parents won't let him watch it, so he sneaks to Maddy's house. They both really like the show, though from our standpoint it seems cheesy.
This movie is slow to start and the way characters interact is odd. Dialog is stilted, and characters don't even seem to respond to each other. I understand how Owen feels out of place. He's young and is trying to figure out his place in the world. I guess this movie wants to capture awkward teens, but it's amplified and that might be just a point of view exaggeration to represent how Owen sees the world. Maybe both of them are incredibly socially awkward and looking for a connection, finding it through this show. Maddy leaves Owen video tapes and recaps of the series since Owen can't watch it.
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| Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine play Owen, Maddy |
Later Maddy leaves town. She invites Owen, but he's too afraid to leave. I began to wonder if we're seeing this movie from Owen's point of view. That could explain how odd this is, from the dialog to the look. We see these flashbacks that beg the question of whether Owen was watching a television show or if it was a connection he imagined, and he was really exploring gender norms. Both of these kids have a disconnect with the world where they don't fit in, and their dysfunctional home lives leave them no support except for each other. Their families presumably reject them because neither conform to typical gender stereotypes. This seems to be the issue for Owen. He's repressed his feelings to avoid any drama with his step-father.
This movie has to be an allegory with the imagery in the latter half. Maddy returns to town and talks to Owen about being buried alive. It's her rebirth, exiting the grave that provided her a new life. Owen was always too afraid to commit to a rebirth. Both of them struggled to understand themselves and the world. Maddy sought to explore that while Owen repressed it. His feelings were trapped inside. Maddy had to experience the death of her old self to become someone new. Owen didn't, and that's why his health deteriorates. The movie's metaphor is the glow inside Owen that he repressed. He was afraid; afraid of what his family and society might think. I surmise the only time he explored his feelings was with Maddy. When she left, that world closed which also marked the end of their favorite show. She was brave and he wasn't.
I like what this wants to do, but it leaves the metaphors too vague. I think I get the metaphors, but this needed to cement the metaphors while adding discussion on top. This never gets that far. I also wish this tied into the fictional show more. Owen re-watches the show and discovers it's not as good as he remembers. There's something to that; everything seems dire when we're a teen, but when we look back it was never as important as we imagined. At the same time, teens are trying to figure out who they are, where they are, and who they want to be. This leaves too much unexplored.
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