Friday, April 1, 2016

I Saw the Light Movie Review

Elizabeth Olsen & Tom Hiddleston (r) star in I Saw the Light

Everything's Fine

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: I Saw the Light, the story of the legendary country western singer Hank Williams (Tom Hiddleston) who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and its ultimately tragic effect on his health and personal life. Directed by Marc Abraham. Also stars Elizabeth Olsen and Bradley Whitford.


According to Williams, "Everyone has a little darkness in 'em," and nobody displays it better than Hiddleston and co-star Olsen in I Saw the Light. Trouble is, there's not enough story to fill-in the blanks, especially across 2+ hours. Williams battles the usual demons (alcohol, drugs, womanizing) but outside of Olsen's feisty combativeness, there's not enough conflict to complement superb performances by the film's starring duo. That said, Hiddleston becomes Williams, even if he doesn't match him octave for octave. Not quite as interesting or well-done as Walk the Line; but for a legend who never reached 30... plenty impressive.

GradeB-