Written And Directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Owen (re Maddy): "What if she was right? What if I was someone else? Someone beautiful and powerful? Buried alive and suffocating to death on the other side of a television screen?"
I've been meaning to watch this movie for a while and yesterday, I managed to get around to finally seeing it. It's premise certainly intrigued me.
Television shows can be a bonding experience for a lot of people and for two outcast teenagers, one particular show resonated with them. The show was called The Pink Opaque and it focused on the connection between girls Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan). Oh and their ongoing battle with Big Bad Mr Melancholy (Emma Portner).
Now that's the TV show I'm talking about. In the real world, the connection was between Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Jack Haven). Owen wasn't allowed to watch the show at home, so he'd go to Maddy's to see it or she'd tape it for him. Either way, The Pink Opaque was a source of comfort for the both of them.
Both Owen and Maddy had crappy home lives. Owen's mother, Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler) was dying and his stepfather, Frank (Fred Durst) was a bit of a jerk. Maddy also had an abusive father that she was desperate to get away from. Halfway through the film, she ended up missing and Owen's life didn't exactly go anywhere positive either.
Before their big reunion, Owen lost both parents and was barely scraping by with his life. Maddy then reappeared and told him a fanciful story about being buried alive and that both her and Owen were really Isabel and Tara from their now cancelled show. Of course Owen wasn't willing to be buried alive in order to find out if Maddy was correct or had lost the plot.
The idea in itself that both Owen and Maddy might be from The Pink Opaque and that the world they've been living in isn't real, well it's a good idea. Unfortunately, I do think the execution let it down with the ending being incredibly frustrating.
- The Pink Opaque seemed to be something akin to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers than Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The Ice Cream Monster feels like something the former would've done more than the latter.
- Speaking of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Amber Benson had a nice scene with Justice Smith. I miss seeing her in things.
- The movie did seem to imply that Owen was gay and Maddy was trans. Owen also battled asthma and depression in later life.
- Chronology: Started off in 1996, moved into 2006 and 2010 before getting closer to the present day.
The more I think about it, the more I do like I Saw The TV Glow than I dislike it. I do think the ending was something of a letdown but the build up was great, there's something about the 90s setting I loved and yes, I think boys my age at that time had that show for girls that we loved unashamedly.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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