47
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerIt’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.
- 50The PlaylistNoel MurrayThe PlaylistNoel MurrayAbraham the writer lets down Abraham the director, and ultimately lets down his stars and Spinotti, too.
- 50Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganHiddleston’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.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreHiddleston can’t pull off the folksiness that was Williams’ public persona.
- 42HitfixGregory EllwoodHitfixGregory EllwoodDespite the worthy efforts of stars Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light is a shockingly bad movie.
- 40VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerDespite 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.
- 40Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlI 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.
- 40The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisPart 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.
- 38Slant MagazineCarson LundSlant MagazineCarson LundA flaccidly directed film that basks for two hours in a carefully art-designed simulation of the past.
- 25IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandI Saw the Light doesn't just fail to illuminate Williams' complicated life and his prodigious talent; it can't even capture the dark corners of a man with more than enough to peer into.