I Saw the TV Glow Review: Jane Schoenbrun’s Surreal Counterculture Hit is Among the Most Beguiling Movies of 2024

   September 21, 2024

I Saw the TV Glow is Directed by Jane Schoenbrun and Stars Justice Smith and Brigette

Review: I Saw the TV Glow is one of the best movies of 2024, showcasing exactly what independent filmmaking can be when handled by the right people. A24 adds another riveting drama by a fascinating young auteur to their trophy case, and Jane Schoenbrun announces themselves as an important and singular filmmaker to look out for moving forward.

Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine in I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

I Saw the TV Glow Review

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Jane Schoenbrun delivers a similarly sinister and bewildering story with I Saw the TV Glow as they did in 2021 with We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. And while their debut film used its DIY aesthetic to great effect with long uninterrupted found-footage shots, I Saw the TV Glow uses every effect and camera flourish you could think of.

It’s a towering achievement of a sophomore film for Jane Schoenbrun, who has used their first two movies to blend deeply moving themes of finding community through culture with the feeling of being isolated because of one’s gender identity. They are usually packed into movies with bright, oscillating color palettes and indie soundtracks.

And while I Saw the TV Glow could be considered even more cryptic than We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, there’s still plenty to bite into because of the eerie performances by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, as well as a directing style by Schoenbrun that qualifies for the “Lynchian” title.

The movie is a cryptic and gripping coming-of-age story for Owen (played at a young age by Ian Foreman and eventually by Justice Smith). Owen struggles with his own identity, not easily making friends and subsequently sticking to his room to watch TV. He bonds with Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), a girl two grades above him, over a teenage Nickelodeon-like television series titled The Pink Opaque.

Maddy takes the series much more seriously than Owen, to the point where the lines begin to blur between reality and fiction. Owen has a much more usual relationship to the show and realizes the absurdity of Maddy’s obsession. But the two are close friends ostracized from society and drawn together by this unique bond.

It’s an idiosyncratic, very personal story from Schoenbrun. Aesthetics aside, they put a lot of sincerity and passion into I Saw the TV Glow. Despite my aforementioned claim that this movie has serious undertones of surrealist filmmaking similar to David Lynch, Schoenbrun clearly likes the subjects of their movie. It’s not aggression that charges I Saw the TV Glow, rather a need to discover the skin that one feels comfortable living in.

Which makes the final 15 minutes of I Saw the TV Glow a real trip. Years removed from his last interaction with Maddy, Owen’s emotional volatility deteriorates and he has a breakdown at work. That causes an almost out-of-body experience in Owen. It’s abrupt, but powerful nonetheless.

Schoenbrun announces themselves as an important and singular filmmaker to look out for moving forward. I Saw the TV Glow is one of the best movies of 2024, showcasing exactly what independent filmmaking can be when handled by the right people. A24 adds another riveting drama by a fascinating young auteur to their trophy case.

Score: 8/10

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