I SAW THE LIGHT
Dir: Marc Abraham (15, 123 mins)
Tom Hiddleston goes full country in this biopic of the short and turbulent life of Hank Williams, a musical genius and inspiration to the likes of Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. This traditional cinematic take on the singer’s life and times starts in 1944 as a 21-year-old Williams marries Elisabeth Olsen’s Audrey and takes us up to his death at 29 from drug and alcohol abuse. Their marriage was a tempestuous one and the film is much more interested in their spats, infidelities and break ups than the music itself, despite coming to life as Hiddleston belts out some of William’s greatest hits, like Lovesick Blues, Move It On Over and Why Don’t You Love Me. There are committed performances from a quirkily cast Hiddleston and Olsen as his bullying wife, but this is by the numbers stuff, the songs are well captured but the film offers no real glimpse into Williams’ talent. No light is seen.