An Indy Bright Spot in the Spring Film Season

(061324) I Saw the TV Glow is an exceptionally imaginative second feature by the still mostly unknown Indy director, Janet Schoenbrun. I have rarely seen a movie by a new film maker as creative or with such a distinct style as this one or one that hit me this hard emotionally. This is more than a typical fantasy film; it is a loving homage to fan culture and a cinematic exploration of people who use their fan community to relieve their loneliness and sense of disconnection.

It may be the bravest, boldest fantasy film since Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film also looks very modern, and it often presents words, images or letters on the screen on the side of the main images. This makes parts of the movie look like a web page and seeing the film almost feels like browsing the World Wide Web. It’s like a glorious beautifully wrapped gift to cult film fans, gamers, comic readers and lovers of the Avant Garde.

When I left the theatre, I felt a similar sense of excitement as I did when I saw the early efforts by such promising directors as Christopher Nolan (Memento), Darren Arronofsky (Pi), and Robert Kelly (Donnie Darko). Like these film makers, Janet Schoenberg has the potential for greatness, and she seems touched by genius. Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and the director of the brilliant First Reformed called the  Schoenberg: ” the most original voice in film of the last decade.” Of the three mentioned movies, this film is closer to Donnie Darko because both films take place partially in high school and feature alienated anti-hero protagonists that see visions that may or may not be true. They either see hidden realities or they are mentally unbalanced and delusional depending on the point of view of the viewer. Also, like Donnie Darko I have a feeling that my appreciation and understanding of the film will increase exponentially with multiple viewings.

Schoenberg who is known for working on weird films, had previously directed the well-received psychological horror film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and she wrote Chained for Life, about a pair of conjoined twins. She obviously loves dream imagery and philosophy, and, in an interview, she said this about making the film, “Every part of it was surreal. I felt like I was like pulling off an existential bank heist.”

The main characters are an asexual male and a lesbian who bond over a weird cult TV show who might both be female adventurers in another reality. The topic is close to the heart of the director who is a biological male who identifies as female. Unlike the woke stuff currently in the Marvel Universe, they never seem to be pandering here and the gender fluid material is an integral part of the story. Glow takes it's inspiration and tone from the great David Lynch. It resembles more of a female centered version of Twin Peaks, one that explores the very hot current theme of gender fluidity as well as media obsession.

The film also has an excellent, mostly unknown cast. It features Justice Smith who was in both Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2008) and the fun filled Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023). Bridgette Lundy-Paine was in the Netflix show Atypical as well as Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020). Also believe it or not the film also has a cameo by one of my least favorite 90s musical figures, Fred Durst, leader of the nu-metal band, Limp Bizkit, but he is fine in the film. The film also features appearances by Phoebe Bridgers as well as Haley Dahl and their band Sloppy Jane who play in the film and contribute to the fine soundtrack.

The African African teen Owen (Smith) goes to a drab, ordinary high school and has no friends. He accidentally meets an androgynous Goth teen named Maddie who is obsessed with a supernatural show named The Pink Opaque, which is a cross between Twin Peaks, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a dash of the more recent Stranger Things thrown in. The show within the movie is about two high school girls, Isabel (Helena Howard) and Tara (Lindsey Jordan who not unlike Buffy and Willow secretly fight a megalomaniac with a head that resembles a planet named Mr. Melancholy. He wants to destroy the universe and plunge it into eternal darkness, which is kind of like what the big bad, the first evil in the final season of Buffy wanted to do. Schoenberg in interviews said she obsessively watched Buffy when she was younger.

The older girl allows Owen to come to her house to watch the show. He is completely enthralled by it and more importantly he finally finds a peer group to be accepted into. When Maddy announces she likes women and she asks about his attraction, Owen meekly replies: “I think I just like TV shows.” Since the show is on after Owen's curfew (late every Saturday night just like Twin Peaks), he cannot see the show at her house every week and Madeline ends up taping the show. Allowing them to time shift their relationship.

Director Schoenberg identifies as gender fluid, and the film itself as well as the show within the show all seem to reflect her own fear about being stigmatized for her gender identification. Part of the appeal of the show within the film is that traditional gender rules and classification do not apply. When Owen’s dad finds out that his son likes the Pink Opaque he fearfully asks: "...but isn’t that a show for girls?” Not necessarily there dad.

The two do not have a traditional romantic relationship or friendship. Even though Maddy and Owen do not have any sexual relations it is clear that there is a kind of deep love between them. They have a strong bond because they are both misfits and outsiders; fans that bond over a weird show obsessively like the legion of Twin Peaks fans. In perhaps the most erotic scene in the film, Maddy puts a replica of the tattoo of the The Pink Opaque girls on Maddy, and it’s clear for her it’s the equivalent of intimately becoming one with him. The shows cancellation is a traumatic event for both of them and leads to the films final act which like The Matrix, increasingly blurs the line between fantasy and reality. It all leads to a bizarre and shocking ending that is thought provoking but not completely satisfying. The ending like the film might take several viewings to process and fully decode or understand.

I Saw the TV Glow deserves to be seen on the big screen while it is still in area theaters. While the film is by no means perfect, it is definitely special, and it is much more sophisticated than almost all of the current franchise films. Also here are parts of this film that are as good as anything else I’ve seen this year, and it could become a modern cult classic.