X
- 2016
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 3 m
- 2016
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 3 m
Summary I Saw the Light, the story of the legendary country western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and its ultimately tragic effect on his health and personal life. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Directed By: Marc Abraham
Written By: Colin Escott, George Merritt, William MacEwen, Marc Abraham
- 2016
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 3 m
- 2016
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 3 m
I Saw the Light
47
5.1
Where to Watch
Summary I Saw the Light, the story of the legendary country western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and its ultimately tragic effect on his health and personal life. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Directed By: Marc Abraham
Written By: Colin Escott, George Merritt, William MacEwen, Marc Abraham
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
47
17% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
69% Mixed
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
14% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
47
17% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
69% Mixed
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
14% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Tom Hiddleston puts in a performance as Williams that ranks with that of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in “I Walk the Line.” And Hiddleston gets to do it in a better movie.
Perhaps inevitably, the film as a whole doesn't stack up to its central performances.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 User Ratings
5.1
31% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
47% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
22% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 User Ratings
5.1
31% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
47% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
22% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
You will know the songs but, like me, you may not know that they originated from Hank Williams. This critically underrated biography of the country singer may be episodic in its presentation, but does a decent job of informing the uninitiated about its subject. Both Tom Hiddlesone and Elisabeth Olsen give good performances, although I have no idea how accurate they are in depicting the real people. Production values are ok, but the cinematography, whilst possibly aiming for a particular period look, is depressingly desaturated of much colour. Still, Hiddlestone has a credible voice and the scenes at the Grand Ole Opry are shot to good advantage. Overall an entertaining effort, but it is still a fair way behind the best Country music biography thus far filmed – ‘Coal miner’s Daughter’.
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"I Saw The Light" was written and directed by Marc Abraham based on the book "Hank Williams -The Biography". The film stars Tom Huddleston portraying the ill fated Hank Williams, the country western icon who brought his style and songs to the mainstream of American popular music with such cross-over hits as "Your Cheating Heart", "Cold Cold Heart", "Hey Good Lookin’", "Poor Old Calija" and many many more. Although the film could have delved more into the life of this marvelous singer/songwriter, it gives the audience an overview of his short life and the 6 years in it which brought him to national prominence.
Tom Huddleston, as Mr. Williams, is amazing and the actor’s own singing captures the essence of this immortal performer. Elizabeth Olsen give an outstanding performance as Audrey Williams, the wife that bore him his young son, Bocefus, who country western fans know today as Hank Williams, Jr. This is a story of a life filled with artistic success, ill health and personal failure as Hiram "Hank" Williams strived to attain a place in the world that would give him fame as well as a happy family. Sadly he achieved one but not the other. I give the film a 7.5 rating and whether the viewer is or is not a country music fan, the story of Hank Williams and his place in country music is well worth watching
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I Saw the Light, though, doesn’t live up to Hiddleston’s efforts; it’s shallow and disjointed, handicapped by a weak, cliche-sodden script.
British actor Hiddleston transcendently captures the sound of Williams’ voice and his performative swagger, and it’s something that’s worth seeing for its amazing conjuring act.
Despite the worthy efforts of stars Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light is a shockingly bad movie.
I Saw the Light ignores Williams's composing, denies us his voice, and is too spooked by sentimentality to show us just what his music touches off in people.
I Saw the Light doesn't just fail to illuminate Williams' complicated life and his prodigious talent; it can't even capture the dark corners of a man with more than enough to peer into.
Biopics are most successful with some sort of creative approach that makes them more than a timeline recap. Unfortunately, this one (about country western singer Hank Williams) tries to hit too many high and low lights. As a result, it's a choppy chronicle that doesn't succeed well at creating a compelling story of his career or his personal life. You could probably read Wikipedia and get the same info. Brit actor Tom Hiddleston inhabits the character, thick Southern accent and all. His performance is charismatic and his singing is impressive. There are brief performance excerpts of Williams' greatest hits and plenty of him drinking and having challenging relationships with women. The pacing stays at the same medium level throughout, which doesn't make for dynamic cinema. The whole film feels choppy and incomplete, never taking the time to create any depth and true appreciation for this talented artist.
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The film never really captures the time period as it should. With that said Tom Hiddleston's performance is mesmerizing. Perhaps his best performance he has ever did. Everything thing is just a backdrop to him. But the rest of the film is painfully average
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Maybe I'm just not a fan of real country music but this movie just didn't grab me. It's always interesting to see the person behind the music you hear on the radio, but Hank's story was a yawner. Of course, this movie spanned 6 years of his life so there wasn't much to tell.
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With only just a short reaction time before I knew there would be an excellent moment to leave knowing anything about I Saw the Light, the entire scenario's complicated. From watching it to leaving, and then I would know what to think about I Saw the Light, but I hardly have any reaction for it.
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