Synopsis
Singer and songwriter Hank Williams rises to fame in the 1940s, but alcohol abuse and infidelity take a toll on his career and marriage to fellow musician Audrey Mae Williams.
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Cast
- Tom HiddlestonHank Williams
- Elizabeth OlsenAudrey Mae Williams
- Wayne PéreToby Marshall
- David KrumholtzJames Dolan
- Wrenn SchmidtBobbie Jett
- Bradley WhitfordFred Rose
- Josh PaisDore Schary
- Cherry JonesLillie Williams
- James DuMontWB Nowlin
- Joe ChrestOscar Davis
Recommendations
- 60
The Hollywood Reporter
It’s unfortunate that Light feels both too traditional and too concerned with showcasing life behind the music, instead of trying to explain why Williams was one of the greatest American musicians of the last century. - 50
The Playlist
Abraham the writer lets down Abraham the director, and ultimately lets down his stars and Spinotti, too. - 50
Screen Daily
Hiddleston’s intense performance lends a little frisson to an otherwise familiar, if gorgeously-mounted tale about a troubled musical genius who is inevitably, gruellingly, felled by his demons. - 50
Movie Nation
Hiddleston can’t pull off the folksiness that was Williams’ public persona. - 42
Hitfix
Despite the worthy efforts of stars Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light is a shockingly bad movie. - 40
Variety
Despite a thoroughly committed, impressive performance from Tom Hiddleston as Williams (and an even better one from Elizabeth Olsen as his first wife, Audrey), the film tackles the life of one of the 20th century’s most seminal musicians with all the passion of a stenographer, making for a dull, unfocused slog through what should have been an effortlessly cinematic story. - 40
Village Voice
I Saw the Light ignores Williams's composing, denies us his voice, and is too spooked by sentimentality to show us just what his music touches off in people. - 40
The New York Times
Part of what defeats Mr. Abraham and may help explain why Mr. Hiddleston’s performance, however appealing, never gets below the surface, is that Williams is one of those artists whose eloquence is expressed through his work.
