MovieChat Forums > I Saw the Light (2016) Discussion > I dont see no light here...

I dont see no light here...


Well great performances by Hiddleston and Olsen, but the script fell way short of what could have been an outstanding story. Thats also what impeded the leads from performing even better.
Too much focus on Hank's personal family life with hardly any real stress on who he was and is - his journey and rise to stardom, his struggles, achieving fame and recognition, his substance abuse and his untimely death. Just sporadic instances coupled with sudden, unexplained time jumps. For instance, after his break up[for the last time] with Audrey, Hank supposedly composed the hit 'Your cheating heart' in 10 mins or so with billie taking a direct dictation while driving - the divorce playing the role of the muse. This is totally mellowed down in the penultimate scenes when he sings the song. Similar avenues were left unexplored since music, like poetry, is usually inspired by some event, incident or occasion leaving the audience to believe the songs just appeared randomly out of nowhere.
Dont want to compare, but having finished watching Race, I was expecting something similar, but the result was disappointing. Cant blame the actors here - if the script is no good, then the cast cant do much about it.

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All I saw was one big tunnel, with no light at the end of it. This musical biopic is strangely disinterested in Hank Williams' musical legacy, yet the element of his addiction is communicated more through speeches than actual character development. This feels more like a compilation of deleted scenes than a finished product.

Tom Hiddleston did a decent job with what he had to work with, but he had almost nothing to work with. 6/10 stars from me.

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Your headline is of course because of Williams' famous comment to Minnie Pearl in the midst of his despair, "there ain't no light". I thought of it too while watching this clichéd biopic that seemed to have made by people with little understanding or interest in musical creativity and country music in particular.

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