Sundance review: I SAW THE TV GLOW is a disturbing puzzler

There’s a common phrase on the Internet: Girls who get it, get it, and girls who don’t get it, don’t. I saw the glow of the TV it’s definitely for the people who get it. The film follows a young teenager, Owen (Judge Smith), as she comes into contact with a classmate, Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) during a late-night teen show that will make anyone who grew up watching cheesy ’90s TV feel at home like Buffy the Vampire Slayer AND The X-Files.

Both Maddy and Owen are awkward, shy, and uncomfortable in their own skin, but Maddy is convinced that the show is real and that her life in the suburbs is fake. And while Owen is desperate to find himself, he is more skeptical than Maddy.

Writer and director Jane Schoenbrun’s fascination with the convergence of technology, media and reality is presented in such an abstract way. It seems that most viewers will be left behind, while a few devotees will grant this film a cult classic, similar to Donnie Darko.

Part of me wishes Shoenbrun’s narrative was simpler: that there’s a fun, relatable story here that’s weighed down by so much esoteric and intellectual emphasis. And while I appreciate fun music and good acting, I worry that I’m one of the girls who doesn’t quite “get it.”

Here is the official description of Sundance:

Teenage Owen is trying to survive suburban life when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show – a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale light of the television, Owen’s vision of reality begins to crack.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Sundance Film Festival 2021) by screenwriter and director Jane Schoenbrun introduced us to a new genre of their conception: emo horror. Their next film builds on that atmosphere, insinuating itself into the subconscious with an equally powerful autopsy of reality versus fiction. As Owen, Judge Smith exudes a quiet vulnerability, while co-star Brigette Lundy-Paine displays a confident but awkward conviction. Schoenbrun has a talent for portraying the trappings of teenage family life with nuance and welcome ambiguity, leaving audience members free to relate in the way that best suits their own experiences. I Saw the TV Glow forces us to consider whether the memories of our youth have betrayed us or whether something more sinister is at play.