I SAW THE LIGHT (2015) BQ takes deep satisfaction in watching a particular type of movie drop into obscurity and oblivion....and that's the film that egotistically trumpets its supposed high purpose and distinguished credentials. These films exist for one goal only....not to be watched by an audience...but to collect accolades from critics and assorted culture approvers along with the accompanying statuettes during the grueling December through February movie awards season. Trying to sit down and endure these movies while they relentlessly beg for their undeserved prizes would depress and demoralize most viewers....that's why The Beached Quill manned up and took this bullet for you......
"I Saw The Light" , which you could think of as "Walk The Line"-Lite, no doubt saw itself as this year's Biography awards contender. High toned casting? Check. Brit-Of-The-Moment Tom Hiddleston (the galactic weasel of Avengers movies and past-expiration-date Taylor Swift squeeze) plays legendary country music star Hank Williams. A pretty low bar was set for Tom, since the last actor to play Williams was the tanned Adonis George Hamilton in 1964's "Your Cheatin' Heart". Even better, the film includes a genuine BQ fave, Elizabeth Olsen, sporting a Miley Cyrus whine, and a....um...striking singing voice as Williams' problematically ambitious first wife Audrey.
So what went wrong? Pretty much everything....from the moment "I Saw The Light" saw the light of a projector, the film festival culture vultures weren't havin' any....they quickly(and correctly) judged it a pretentious bore and consigned it to the $9.96 section on the Wal-Mart racks. The key problem with "Give Me My Awards!" movies like this one.....they have all the trappings of a great movie without actually being one. And "I Saw The Light" stands as a punishing example. Deadly pacing, scenes that go nowhere with characters whispering unintelligible dialogue to each other, and artsy cinematography that paints the entire film in a barely lit brownish-orange...(looking like the movie was shot in a closet with the door only slightly open.) Hiddleston and Olsen put forth their best efforts, but they're swimming in the filmmakers' quicksand pool here. At 124 minutes, you could potentially lose the will to live before the end credits start rolling.
A total miss......BQ twangs out 1 star.
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