The dramatization of country and blues singer-songwriter and legend, Hank Williams’ life, as well as his rise to fame as one of the most popular and influential artists, is highlighted in the musical biopic, I Saw the Light.
Marc Abraham’s passion project about the country icon stars Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his first wife, Audrey Williams. Over the past ten years, musical bios have been a mixed bag, ranging from the good (Straight Outta Compton, Ray) to some not so good (Notorious, Why Do Fools Fall in Love).
Despite a compelling subject in Williams and a solid actor in Hiddleston, who bears a striking physical resemblance to the late country superstar, the film suffers from a dour screenplay that paints Williams’ life as a dark, joyless affair.
The end result is a slowly paced story that keeps the audience at arm’s length and eventually gives them no reason to care. Hiddleston and Olsen do their best but unlike Williams’ whose composition is the title of the film, there is simply no “light” in Abraham’s seemingly never-ending story!
Grade: C-