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Tom Hiddleston showcases his piping pipes and makes you involuntarily swoon at least once

I Saw The Light, directed by Marc Abraham, tells the story of country singer Hank Williams and his incredible rise to fame and subsequent fallout the singer faced in his short 6-year journey.

Getting right into it, Tom Hiddleston‘s portrayal as Hank Williams is simply fantastic. Both Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen give amazing performances and it was a delight to see the dynamic between the two because they played a dueling yet loving husband/wife brilliantly. Unfortunately I felt that the film neglected to really delve into why these two love each other. I felt genuine love between them, however that is more as a testament to the acting abilities of Hiddleston & Olsen, not the way the characters are written. The secondary characters did a fine job, however there were no true standouts. There is one character were makes an announcement toward the end of the movie that gave one of the best 6-second performances I’ve ever seen. Let me say that the only exposure to Hank Williams I personally have had is his song Heyyyy Good Lookin’ blaring on the K-Rose station whenever I played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

I had no idea about the troubles he faced or the relationship he had with his wife and the movie does manage to illustrate his demons really well. There were enough instances where we see the drinking and the womanizing and it never felt overwhelming or tiring. The main issue I had with the movie has to be the actual progression of the plot/story felt rather incoherent and disjointed at times. There were no real natural transitions of the scenes and there were instances where plot points were not explained as thoroughly as it could have been; don’t get me wrong, I hate being spoon-fed however, without going too much into spoiler territory, I had no idea who consisted of the Williams Household until like, halfway into the movie. Throughout the movie I found myself asking how much time has progressed from the previous scene and the abrupt scene changes really did not help in that department. There were also certain scenes that could have benefited from being cut since the pacing was a bit of an issue, these scenes felt overly long.

The musical performances sprinkled throughout were phenomenal. Abraham knew which musical interludes were the most appropriate to expand on and which ones were not.

I truly enjoyed this part of the movie because they never felt excessive and were needed to showcase Williams’ talent… Speaking of talent… Tom Hiddleston’s voice… oh. my. word. He was something else. Honestly, had it been anyone other than Hiddleston & Olsen I doubt I would have enjoyed the movie too much. These two are amazing talents and I cannot wait to see how their respective careers progress… And if they get married to each other, would not hate that either 🙂

The way I Saw The Light was shot was also great. There was a sense of griminess throughout it and there were instances where you felt present in the room… And trust me, there are certain scenes that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and it felt wonderful.

If you’re looking for a movie that spans a few years and showcases the acting talent of Tom Hiddleston & Elizabeth Olsen, complete with country music, accents and phenomenally gorgeous-looking scenes, check out I Saw The Light.

I Saw The Light receives 3/5 Matt Damon heads.

s/o to Scene Creek & GoFobo for tickets to the screening 🙂