I Saw the Light

Greetings again from the darkness. Most Hollywood musical biopics follow a similar and predictable structure, which is why Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story was so easily able to parody the genre. Of course, the legendary singer/songwriter Hank Williams deserves more than predictable storytelling … but unfortunately, that's exactly what he gets here.

Tom Hiddleston delivers a spot on physical impersonation of Hank – right down to the slightly hunched over (due to Spina Bifida Occulta) posture and bouncy onstage waggle. Yes, the very British Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki in The Avengers and Thor movies, has managed to capture the presence of one of the all-time great Country and Western icons. Mr. Hiddleston worked on the beloved songs with Rodney Crowell and delivers some very nice singing - so nice in fact that the singing is distracting and misleading. Hank Williams sang his songs in angst … a tortured soul seemingly without choice in his need to share his art. No one could be expected to perform with that emotion, and the void is obvious.

As source material, director Marc Abraham (Flash of Genius, 2008) utilizes "Hank Williams: The Biography" co-written by George Merritt, Colin Escott, and William MacEwen. It may be the least creative title possible for a biography, and the movie correlates perfectly. We track Hank's early days as a struggling singer whose dream is to someday perform on the hallowed stage of The Grand Ole Opry, to his gas station marriage to Audrey May (Elizabeth Olsen), through his alcoholism, drug use, womanizing, superstardom, fall from grace, and ultimately tragic death at the age of 29.

Despite the nature of Williams' short life, the film only skims the surface and rarely digs too deeply. The steady stream of women/wives is difficult to track … perhaps that's the point. Audrey is the only one who gets much screen time and Ms. Olsen plays her as an ambitious shrew who comes across as impossible to like and as unwilling to work at the relationship. A staggering number of Hank Williams songs are embedded as merely interludes separating scenes of misery for all involved … especially Hank, who seems to find little joy in life.

We've all seen the destruction that fame often leads to, and when combined with Hank's painful back disorder and relentless alcoholism, it's little wonder his body simply surrendered at such an early age. The movie just seems a bit too high-gloss for such a tortured soul, and despite the best efforts of Tom Hiddleston, the film is not worthy of someone who left the musical legacy of Hank Williams.

When I see a film like "I Saw The Light", it reminds me of how fine the line is between being "great" and being "just okay". This film has great acting, wonderful song numbers, and tells a dramatic story…all things that it's "spiritual" successor "Walk The Line" does. However, there is one key difference (that makes all the difference): That earlier Johnny Cash flick had a lot of heart. This Hank Williams biopic? Not so much.

For a basic plot summary, "I Saw The Light" tells the story of Hank Williams (Tom Hiddleston), the mega-popular but also severely troubled country music superstar. The film begins with his rushed, low-key marriage to Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen), then chronicles his rise to stardom in line with the promiscuity and alcoholism that defined his personal life.

The problem that holds back "I Saw The Light" is simple to identify, yet tough to disseminate: it lacks that "spark", or heart, that previous biopics on other topics have provided. I think the primary culprit in this case is that it doesn't include much of a personal narrative for any of the featured characters. It's about as "straight" of a biopic as one will ever see, not providing any "editorializing" (for lack of a better word) on Hank or his life. Simply put, there is no backstory given, so how can we ever really feel for the events on screen without that context?

Fortunately, the acting in this film is terrific…every bit as good as "Walk The Line", to be completely honest. Hiddleston captures the awkward skinny-ness of Hank's physical presence, while Olsen often steals the show as Audrey. Usually, acting like this can propel a film to great heights, but (as previously mentioned) there just isn't enough meaty material to create the kind of dramatic tension needed to make that happen.

The musical numbers are a treat, as Hiddleston does a remarkable job of mimicking Hank's unique sound. I like it when films like this let the actor cover the songs…so long as the performance isn't totally butchered. Hiddleston shines in that regard.

Overall, though, the lack of drama/energy in "I Saw The Light" ultimately doom it to its 3-star rating. It's a bit sad, as all the other components are firmly in place, but it just lacks that dramatic narrative that needs to drive any biopic. A film like this can't just "portray real life" (as where is the spectacle in that?). It has to tell its own story, and that is where "I Saw The Light" fell short.

I'm only 25 years old, but I have almost all of Hank's music and have read multiple books in high school about him (including "Hank Williams: The Biography" by Colin Escott). So needless to say, I had high hopes for this movie.

I feel like my high hopes were mostly met. I thought the movie did a very good job of laying out Hank's life and showing his stardom as well as struggles. I didn't like as much that it was rated R vs a PG-13 for "Walk the Line", but then again, anyone who has studied Hank knows that his life was rough and he wasn't candy-coated by any means.

I think Tom Hiddleston does a very good job as Hank, though maybe not QUITE as spot on as I would've liked. But when a big movie comes out about probably my biggest musical artist of all-time, I won't complain. From what I've read, Mr. Hiddleston was basically trained to be as spot-on as possible, and when I saw the movie, he had me believing it was Hank. Elizabeth Olsen did a very good job as Audrey as well.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the movie and am anticipating any special edition releases when it comes out on DVD in a few months. Of course, there were moments of sadness especially toward the end, but there were also moments of happiness and (at least for me) a few chuckles. Although I wouldn't rank this as high as "Walk the Line" in my list of biopics, it was definitely worth the price of admission to me and I would totally see it again if given the opportunity.

I've grown up in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Home to Helen Keller and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, our little town sits shoulder to shoulder to both Sheffield, home of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and Muscle Shoals, home of FAME Recording Studios. We are not a community that is well known outside the music industry but we have seen our share of big names making comfortably quiet stops in our area to work on some of their releases. Needless to say, our area has an affinity for music and when I recently came across this film, I had to check out this flick about one of Alabama's boys.

Hank Williams truly played one of the most significant roles in country music. While his life was brief, the impact he made speaks volumes to his gift of musical creativity and delivery. The scope of what he could have achieved had his life not ended is something to think about.

While this film is wonderfully acted and filmed, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed. I thought that for a biographical movie about the demise of a musical icon this film was shallow. It seemed to only scratch the surface of Hank Williams life, music, relationships and addictions. If I had to choose what it was most focused on I would say it was mostly about his first marriage. It was still, as I said, very shallow and didn't really dig into their struggles and they didn't have many scenes together in the film.

I was disappointed that his music wasn't showcased more. There were some honky tonk scenes, some Grand Ole Opry scenes and a couple acapella moments but it was just missing something and didn't seem to do him much justice. It would've also been nice to have seen some about his childhood and how he came to realize his musical talent.

Don't get me wrong, I liked this film. Hiddleston did a great job filling this role and I'm not sure that you'd find many fans that would disagree with that. I guess I was just hoping for more than I got. It was nonetheless a decent film and worth the watch.

It's a shame that some of this film's structural flaws will keep many from seeing one of the best on screen performances I've seen in years. Hiddleston's Hank Williams is a masterful creation: haunting, driven and soulful with the added bonus of Hiddleston doing his own singing and playing (no lip-syncing) including Hank's famous yodel.

While the film would have benefited with less marital squabbling and more music, it nonetheless takes one on an gripping journey of an American music icon's tragic life and short but amazing career.

Elizabeth Olson as Audrey, William's headstrong wife, does a fine job but I could have done with less of their relationship story and more about Hank's musical process. Cherry Jones is also excellent as Hank's bossy mom.

The stellar singing in the opening segment is worth the price of admission.