REVIEW: ‘I Saw The TV Glow’ Turns The Dial To Self-Reflection

We all have that one television show that shaped us. It’s the one we watched endless reruns of, wrote fanfic of, or just held close. The memories we made in front of the glow of the TV are just as valuable and transformative as those we made outside, and for some, those series changed how we understood ourselves. Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun understands this deeply and pulls everything into perspective in their latest film, I Saw The TV Glow. The A24 film stars Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, and Fred Durst.

Owen is a teen just trying to make it through life in the suburbs while feeling out of place. When his classmate, Maddy,  introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show called The Pink Opaque, he begins to find himself. The series is a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. Following Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan), the characters come through in the TV glow. The Pink Opaque follows two teen girls who use their psychic connections to solve problems and vanquish new monsters each week. But in the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack as we see him grow older and The Pink Opaque loses its allure.

I Saw The TV Glow is a powerful exploration of how media can be a moment that wakes up parts of ourselves we didn’t know were there. The Pink Opaque is a clear homage to Buffy, from the characters’ names to the Buffy-verse font it uses for the credits. Buffy, despite Joss Whedon’s ills, is many millennials queer awakening. I still remember how I felt when I saw vampire Willow at the Bronze, let’s be real. Buffy was a safe and cathartic space for us to explore ourselves. For Owen and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), The Pink Opaque does that for them.

The TV glow is a safe house. It’s where Owen and Maddy can escape their bad home life and embrace who they are instead of pretending to be who they aren’t. They build their friendship around recognizing parts of themselves in each other. This is just like the main characters of their favorite late-night show. But instead of telling a story of embracing themselves, writer-director Schoenbrun decides to show their audience what happens when you don’t.

At every turn, Shchoenbrun gives Owen the chance to be who he is inside. They give him the path to embrace who he really is, to transition. But Owen doesn’t take it. At every point, he runs away. He chooses to cling to the safety of the life he knows versus the safety and vibrancy that the scarier path can offer. Owen chooses to sleep and to perform a life at the expectations of others. I Saw The TV Glow doesn’t look to chide Owen, but instead asks the audience to understand his pain. The pain he carries silently as he moves through the world is visible for us in the final act of the film.

Owen’s path is one that many take. While this queer horror film is particularly about trans identity, for all of us still in the closet or at the very least not leading with who we are, we can see ourselves too. Director Schoebrun’s care for their characters rings throughout every scene. Coupled with the reverence for YA horror and sci-fi series of the early aughts, I Saw The TV Glow is an explosive and unique vision of identity, and the role media plays in exploring it.

For his part, Justice Smith is astounding. His performance is vulnerable and delicate, the voice he uses throughout the film always slightly wavering. I Saw The TV Glow is a clear example of the immense acting talent Smith has become, and the importance of centering him as a Black queer man in this queer story can’t be understated especially as we look at the real statistics that show that Black trans people are killed and victims of violent crime at a disproportionate and alarming rate. The truth is that 90% of those killed in anti-trans hate crimes are people of color, and 61% are Black trans women. Smith’s performance is monumental because of the story being told and because of the strength of his talent as well.

As we look beyond narrative, I Saw The TV Glow also features a hair-raisingly good soundtrack that morphs perfectly over time as the acts progress. Alex G’s score and soundtrack are standouts, but it’s truly Schoebrun’s directorial eye and Eric K. Yue’s cinematography that takes the film over the finish line.

I Saw The TV Glow has the legs to be a cult classic in the vein of the television series it immortalizes through The Pink Opaque. More importantly, it’s a queer story that is unlike any I’ve seen before. It invites every viewer to look inward, to stand in front of a mirror, and accept who they are.

I Saw The TV Glow screened as a part of the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival and is playing in theaters everywhere from A24.