2024 Sundance Film Festival Movie Review: I Saw the TV Glow

I’m writing a review for Jane Schoenbrun I Saw the TV Glow but I also feel like I shouldn’t. I saw the movie at the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival, and though the festival is officially over as of writing this review, it is one of the movies I saw during the festival that I cannot stop thinking about. But also, it is a movie I think requires multiple viewings to get a complete grasp on what we just saw on screen. I Saw the TV Glow is a visceral, hypnotic, haunting experience. 

The plot of I Saw the TV Glow revolves around Owen (Justice Smith), a lonely, suburban kid who becomes obsessed with a TV show titled The Pink Opaque after meeting Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) who is even more obsessed with the show than he is. Their obsession takes a turn when Maddy starts to believe that episodes of the show are events that take place in her actual life. She disappears without a trace, which causes concern for Owen and he starts to believe that his reality may also

Following their lo-fi, micro-budget We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which premiered at the all-virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Schoenbrun’s sophomore effort is one of the best second features I have seen from a director in recent years. Watching I Saw the TV Glow is watching a director have complete control over a vision that nobody working in current movies has. Seeing this on the big screen was a special experience. The film’s entrancing vibe and tone keep you gripped the whole time. The film is unpredictable and you can never guess where the film is taking you, but every step is the correct one and more surprising than the previous one. The film is visually astounding. Neon colors pop amongst the darkness and mundane of the suburban backdrop. 

Schoenbrun has made an eerie look at the influence of television, particularly children’s shows of the 90s, and how they warp our minds about idealistic worlds and push us to think a certain way. This is also a powerful allegory for the trans experience (the director is trans themselves) about wanting to be the person you want to be versus the person that society and the media want you to be. Schoenbrun has complete control over these themes and each one is looked at and developed thoroughly. 

You watch I Saw the TV Glow and almost can’t believe that is only the second film that Schoenbrun has made. This is a skilled filmmaker who is just as skilled behind the camera as they are in their writing and converting their themes. And yet, I still can’t pin down just how good this movie is. A lot is happening in the film, but it’s all good. Is this a new masterpiece from one of our great new voices? Is it a hypnotic experimental film? Further viewings will clear this all up, but I couldn’t recommend this movie enough mostly because nobody is making movies like Schoenbrun right now and you won’t see any movie like this in 2024.

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