With the same title as a song written by him, this film chronicles the turbulent life of country/western singer/songwriter Hank Williams. The plot spans the late 40s and early 50s, when he was most popular. Terrific costumes and prod design for that historical era contribute to realistic visuals, as does the cinematography, a blend of B&W, color, and sepia. Many interior scenes convey a dimly lit, drab atmosphere, common in post Great Depression America.The major problem here is the script. Too much time is spent on his stormy marriage to wife Audrey; this theme repeats over and over. As a result the film's tone trends toward anger. The tone needed to reflect melancholy. Moreover, the strongest scenes are right at the end, the funeral, which needed to be at the very beginning to set the stage for a life beset by difficulty and depression. The ending then could have been an expanded version of the last few hours of his life and subsequent funeral.In addition, there's a tendency to insert filler scenes into the plot that, although factual, were tangential to his onstage performances and his many burdens. The long segment of his and Audrey's reconciliation at a rural home, the B&W movie reel, the Dory Sherry interview, the bird dog hunting are examples of plot segments that could have been excised from the film.Acting, both by Tom Hiddleston as Hank and Elizabeth Olsen as Audrey, is acceptable. But having Hiddleston lip sync Williams' songs might have worked better.The film's poor public reception may relate less to the film's plot problems than to the subject matter. Time moves on. Perhaps a modern audience no longer feels that the life of a county/western singer from 65+ years ago would be relevant.Yet, for Hank Williams fans, like me, the film is worth watching at least once. His music is frozen in time, the songs being expressions of sadness and heartache that were common among the common man and woman during a period in American history that had not yet fully recovered from the Great Depression.

'I SAW THE LIGHT': Three Stars (Out of Five)A biopic based on the life, and death, of country and blues music legend Hank Williams. The movie stars British actor Tom Hiddleston, as Williams, and it costars Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones and Bradley Whitford. It was written and directed by Marc Abraham, and it's based on the book 'Hank Williams: The Biography' (by Colin Escott, George Merritt and William MacEwen). The film underperformed at the indie Box Office, and it's gotten mostly negative reviews from critics and fans alike. I think it's about average for a biography, which means it's pretty boring stuff (despite it's involving subject matter).The movie begins when Hank Williams (Hiddleston) was already a well known country and blues singer, and songwriter. He was also already unhappily married to Audrey Sheppard Williams (Olsen), who was also his duet partner and manager. He also already had a serious alcohol and drug problem as well. The movie chronicles his rise to fame, and further descent into health and relationship troubles, up until his very young death at the age of 29.Hiddleston, despite not being an American actor (or especially from the South), gives an awesome performance in the film (he also did all of his own singing in it)! His performance is actually the highlight of the movie, but the character (and the music legend that he plays) should be a lot more fascinating. The movie recounts the details of his short life, and stardom, but it doesn't actually breath any real life into them; it's just not very involving at all (like it should be). Most biopics have this too annoying flaw though. The film is OK, especially for a Hank Williams fan, but then again, Hank Williams fans are the ones who should be the most eager for more.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/mFAp0zxR-lY

I've been a fan of Hank Williams since I was a little boy. One of the first LPs I ever owned was a collection of songs performed by Williams from 1965 that I still have to this day. When the Williams biopic YOU'RE CHEATIN' HEART aired on TV I was glued to the set. As I grew up I moved on to rock music but that LP remained in my collection though not listened to quite as often. Thus when new movies about Williams arrive I am still interested. I SAW THE LIGHT is perhaps the best representation of the man and his music as I've seen.Tom Hiddleston, Loki in the recent Marvel hero movies, stars as Williams going from the early start of his career to his first marriage to wife Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen) to his death in 1953 at age 29. Though his time here was short Williams led a colorful life that was cut short by his alcohol abuse as well as the tempestuous nature of his romantic inclinations. Much of that is touched on here but never to the point of exhausting these items. Instead the movie moves at a methodic pace that some will find slow and others will appreciate rather than the usual flash bang boom most biopics offer. The times were different then and so was the world of country music.Shown beginning at a small station with a weekly program Hank dreams of the day he can play at the Grand Ole Opry, the pinnacle for country music stars. Hank meets and falls in love with Audrey but his influential mother builds a barrier between the pair, even after they marry. Audrey has dreams of her own as a performer but her talent is far less than her desire. This among other things drives a wedge between the couple.As Hank's star begins to rise so too does the constant touring that it engenders. With Audrey at home tending to their just started family Hank does what many touring stars do. He imbibes far too much and finds himself with a different woman each night. Couple that with the already deep wedge between the two and his mother's influence and a parting of the ways seems inevitable. But even then there remained a love between these two.The damage done and the chosen lifestyle of Williams as a touring musician influenced not just his life but the songs he wrote as well. The pain of loss, the demons faced with his addictions all found their way into his music. All of that is shown here in subtext that helps propel the movie forward.What makes the movie work for me is that the usual histrionics shown in movies like this isn't done. We don't see long drawn out moments of rage between the two main characters. They happen but not nearly as often as the conversational moments when the pain caused and felt by Williams is there for us to see. This felt more like real life than the tantrums one has come to associate with biopics dealing with the topic of adultery and addiction.What makes the movie more memorable than anything is the stand out performance of Hiddleston as Williams. From the involuntary ticks on display as he performs, the rhythmic movement of foot from side to side, to the way he holds his guitar make for a complete immersion into the role. That he actually sang the vocals on each track only adds to the depth of his performance. While I will always remember George Hamilton as Williams in YOU'RE CHEATIN' HEART it will be Hiddleston I come to consider when I next listen to Williams perform.The movie only got a slight nudge when it was released rather than a huge push. Because of that it never got the attention that it deserved. One can only hope that changes when Oscar time comes around. Hiddleston was that good in this role. If not then at least we can all enjoy the film when we want to pop it into the DVD player from time to time. If you haven't seen this one look for it. It will be a wise investment of your time. And it may even make you dig out that scratched old vinyl LP to listen to once again.

I really wanted to like this movie... I wanted it to be a huge breakout solo hit for Tom Hiddleston, but it just wasn't that great. The writing seemed a bit cheesy and it took a while to get moving and that didn't happen until pretty far in, about the time his back problem was finally explained. From there on out, his drinking becomes obvious, but there is still too much left unmentioned about his marriage and what lead him to such destructive behavior. Hank Williams has been gone for a long time... I think we needed more of a reminder about who he was and what he went through. The music is great... there is talent in the film and you can tell that Tom Hiddleston put a lot of work into it, but it just doesn't come together. I guess in the end there was just too much left unexplained.