I Saw the Light (2016)

I don't think I've ever caught a movie on opening day, but I couldn't resist fighting the crowd to see "I Saw The Light" on opening night. Wasn't much crowd to fight. I was the first to purchase tickets for the 7:15 show at the Warren. The reviews haven't been good, but I want to start out and say if you are a fan of Hank Williams, go see the movie. I read all the books and watch all the movies. I appreciate any attempt to keep the music of Hank alive and on the forefront. The last few days, there has been a lot of talk about Hank and this latest film. Sixty-three years after his death, and we are still talking about him and the media is putting out stories on this latest biopic about the greatest hillbilly singer ever. Over sixty studio recordings of which over 30 charted. No one else has done that! It was a short career, but will probably require a mini-series to actually tell the story to meet our expectations. Tom Hiddleston's performance is commendable. He has the look and is a great actor. He also had the benefit of working with country legend Rodney Crowell to prepare for the film. With today's recording technology, the music will be perfect. However, Tom fails to capture that "tear" (as in crying tear) in his voice that Hank had. He didn't appear to be about to lose control of his emotions when singing "Lovesick Blues" or "Cold Cold Heart". The music is great, with some of the best sidemen in Nashville contributing. Tom's movement while singing seemed a bit awkward. It seemed instead of bouncing up and down, like Hank did from exerting the emotion in his music, Tom had a choreographed circular motion. However, he looked like Hank. I became immediately jealous of his perfect "Hank" nose (which makes mine look like Jamie Farr). I give Rodney an "A" for his production of the music. The movie tends to jump around all of the dark characteristics of Hank without fully exploring them. These "dark" areas haunted Hank during about 5% of his time of stardom (in my opinion) while the other 95% was great music and good times (albeit in pain). While the Colin Escott autobiography is considered one of the best, other books by band members Jerry Rivers and Don Helms give a more accurate allocation of the fun Hank vs the dark Hank. The film missed an opportunity to create an epic moment during Hank's opry debut when he reportedly performed numerous encores of Lovesick Blues (and I've heard first hand reports from Martha White, who happens to be my Mom, who was there that night). I'm not a director of any sorts, but I would have used the title song performance of "La Bamba" as my example of creating such an epic moment. I think they also missed an opportunity to tie in the hospital scene of Hank bringing Audrey roses resulting in his writing Cold Cold Heart. And why not some drama surrounding Lilly boarding a pregnant Bobbie Jett and Billie Jean at the same time? Or the drama of the three way fight between Lilly, Billie Jean, and Audrey after Hank is dead, resulting in Lilly and Audrey "tag teaming" against Billie Jean. Or the birth of Bobbie's baby, Cathy, just days after Hank's funeral with Bobbie turning over custody to Lilly before moving to California? I didn't see any glaring inaccuracies, probably due to Colin Escott being an advisor. They give a disclaimer at the end of changing some timelines for dramatization, but none immediately stood out to me (possibly leaving out The Willis Brothers as the first band he recorded with on Sterling instead of Red Foley's band?). The wardrobe, instruments, amps, and cars were fun to watch in the film along with the vintage scenes from the opry. Audrey's (Elizabeth Olsen) vocals were very close to real, in my recollection of her recordings, so I'll give Elizabeth an A also. I'm not a professional movie critic, but if I were directing it, I would have added a "National Lampoon" ending like Animal House and Stripes where a short bio tells what happened to each character after Hank's death. Toby Marshall, Audrey, Bobbie's baby, Bocephus, and Billie Jean are stories in themselves. Again, please go see the movie. Maybe the movie's success will inspire other artists or even a mini-series (I'll nominate Jason Petty to play Hank and maybe he will let me play Big Bill Lister or George Morgan). Or better yet, go buy Colin's book, and Jerry's and Don's and check out Brian Turpen's books. For what it's worth, that's my review. Couple more things. Tom's version of the Luke The Drifter recitation was very good. He did better at mimicking Hank's vocal intonations on that number than he did with the regular speaking role. Also, another interesting scene that I would have added would have been Hank's dealings with Jack Ruby in Dallas (and using his alias, Herman P. Willis to avoid him).

I am a fan of Tom Hiddleston and a big fan of Hank Williams – so this is one I very much looked forward to. It is from director Marc Abraham and he has gone for a very personal slice of the great man's life. We meet Williams when he is playing live gigs for a few dollars on the local radio stations being driven by his mom and drinking like a sailor on shore leave. We follow him through his tumultuous relationship with his wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen) and his attempts to fulfil his dream by getting on the stage of the 'Grand Ol Opry'. There are also the songs and it should be noted that Hiddleston did all the singing himself – either to pre recorded tapes of himself or live to camera. Check out 'Your Cheatin' Heart' it drips with the raw emotion and heart breaking fragility that was the true trade mark of Williams and is what – I feel- means that Country and Western is as vital today as it has ever been. The film though will not be to everyone's liking as it does not use the traditional milestones on the journey of his life and the music could have been more to the fore - or indeed less if that is your thing. I have given it time to sink in and am appreciating it more now that I have had time to think about its impact and message. The one thing that is certain is that it is very much a tribute and was made with love and for that it gets a big thumbs up.

The only thing which made this dreary movie bearable was Tom Hiddleston's singing. Why a great classical actor such as Hiddleston (Henry V in The Hollow Crown) found himself in this yawnfest is beyond comprehension. Where they should have had an exciting montage showing Hank Williams going from smoky sweaty honky tonks in the South to Grand ol' Oprey and beyond, performing one song after another, we got a dull flat cheating husband soap opera played out in tacky motel rooms. Compared with the Johnny Cash biopic I Walk the Line, this was a waste of money and the waste of time spent watching it. The film had a budget TV movie feel with the major sets being outside the front door of William's home and a budget hotel room, which appeared to be the same one throughout. Even the scenes of meetings consisted of a man sitting behind a desk face by one or two others and little movement. The long farewell to his wife before he drove away to his unexpected death was excruciatingly corny.The lone star is Tom Hiddleston's singing, of which we heard far too little. I hope his career survives.

Hank Williams was one of those talents who just seem to come along ever so often from "out of nowhere" and becomes a legend in his own time. Hank was a candle that burnt out quickly but only leaving behind great music, which was later recorded by just about every big name in the music business of the sixties and seventies, anyway.I am a sucker for true stories and "time pieces" so this was a film I wanted to see as soon as I saw an advert for it, even though I did not like country western in the days Mr Williams was still alive. Hank Williams is however a major reason I started listening to country western, and the lead actor Tim Hiddleston looks like Hank and portrays him as accurately as I suspect anybody could without making him look "cardboard".The music is played throughout the film and the scenery was well researched. (Don't look for any out of era vehicles, I don't think you will find any.)The film is best for an adult crowd for the language used in the film, but if you can see this for the great film I think it is, you will enjoy it.If this film is not Oscar material...nothing is of late.