I SAW THE TV GLOW *UPDATED*

Much of the focus on Jane Schoenrbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow is about the pivotal moment where a young queer person transitions. But the film is much more than that. It's certainly shot from a queer lens/perspective but isn't exclusive. Quite the opposite. In my personal opinion, I Saw The TV Glow is just as much about the comfort of slightly weird childhood/teenage nostalgia as it is about identity & transitioning. I use the word comfort because there’s something nice about another person or small group of folks that are in to the same weird niche stuff you’re in to. There's no better feeling than finding your people. There's comfort in someone making you a copy of some underground music or those 6 hour blank VHS tapes with 3 random movies on them that have no connection or correlation with each other (if you went through my Dad's VHS collection in 1991 you’d find maxell tapes with Lifeforce, School Daze & Death Wish all on the same tape). Having specific similar odd interests matter. Those kinds of things can make unbreakable lifelong friendships and can transcend different cultures, races, backgrounds, etc (I still have friendships that span over 30 years that are rooted in a love off the same "non-traditional" things). This applies to music, art, film, or, in the case of I Saw The Tv Glow – television. An important part of this film is about the bond our two young characters make over their love of the same television programming that is a clear homage to shows like Pete & Pete, Eerie Indiana, You Can’t Do That On Television, Encyclopedia Brown, etc (it should be noted that Pete & Pete’s Mike Maronna & Danny Tamberelli make a cameo in the film). 

Old children’s programming from the late 80’s through the early 90’s, specifically Nickelodeon, was certainly accessible but it was also kind of weird (especially when compared to children’s programming in 2024). You watch shows like Pete & Pete or You Can’t Do That On Television and there’s something intentionally “off” with the overall tone of those shows. It’s like PG-rated dark humor with a nice pinch of surreality. There was a sweet spot where a lot of the shows we had as kids where weird, informative & different but also easy to access. I hate to sound like an old grump but a lot of today’s programming for young people is very safe & homogeneous.

Pete & Pete / I Saw The TV Glow

Because this film is rooted in nostalgia, there are plenty of intentional & unintentional nods to the works of other filmmakers. This isn’t a bad thing in my book. Nostalgia can sometimes be seen as insufferable but in the case of I Saw The TV Glow that’s the point. Nostalgia is a key ingredient to the film so if that’s not something that interest you - it’s probably best to just not even watch it. It’s important to note that the nostalgia in this movie isn’t associated with happy memories. The characters in this film are antisocial outcasts with rough personal lives. Schoenbrun also shows that some of the things we loved as kids/teenagers are kind of dated & disappointing when we revisit them as adults.

This isn’t a movie for everyone but anyone who appreciates Lynch, Cronenberg, TV Carnage & weird youtube algorithms will find something interesting buried in here.

 
Schoenbrun has always been open about her influences (click here to read my thoughts about previous film) and her latest film is no exception. A lot of the older movies that are subconsciously referenced by Schoenbrun were/are a safe space and/or comfort for outcasts & outsiders...

I just find the glow of a screen to be appealing. It's something that I very naturally gravitate toward, in the way that David Cronenberg gravitates toward body horror - Jane Schoebrun, The Hollywood Reporter

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Videodrome / I Saw The TV Glow

Crimes Of The Future / I Saw The TV Glow

Between when I was a kid and watched Twin Peaks for the first time and when the show got rebooted in 2017, I just had recurring nightmares about it- Jane Schoenbrun, Inverse.com

Twin Peaks: Season 1 / I Saw The TV Glow

Twin Peaks: Season 2 / I Saw The TV Glow

Twin Peaks: The Return / I Saw The TV Glow

I’m a big fan of thinking of a film as infinitely deep. I think I got that from [David] Lynch - jane schoenbrun, Letterboxd

Mulholland Drive / I Saw The TV Glow

Eraserhead / I Saw The TV Glow

I’m a big fan of thinking of a film as infinitely deep. I think I got that from [David] Lynch - Jane Schoenbrun, Letterboxd

Inland Empire / I Saw The TV Glow

Inland Empire / I Saw The TV Glow

I don’t mean to put one film down to prop up another but I Saw The TV Glow feels like a more successful attempt at doing what Flying Lotus tried to do with his Kuso which was a cosmic slop/mixtape of surreality, nostalgia & body horror.

I personally enjoyed this overall but there’s only a specific list of folks that I would actually recommend this to which keeps with the theme of the film. Maybe in 30 years Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature will be that discovery that bonds a group of outcasts.

INFINITY POOL *UPDATED*

Nepotism is an interesting subject when it comes to film. People love to conveniently pick & choose who they criticize. Sofia Coppola is often used as the definitive case study for “nepo babies” while her cousins Nicolas Cage & Jason Schwartzman go relatively uncriticized for having the same lineage (to be clear - I'm not saying it isn't common knowledge that they're in the Coppola family. It just doesn't come up as much in comparison to Sofia). Everyone loves Jeff Bridges & Jamie Lee Curtis while Margaret Qualley & John David Washington’s legacy is so weirdly downplayed. I understand that folks like Sofia Coppola & John David Washington haven’t made the impact of folks like Nicholas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis or Jeff Bridges, but there’s got to be some kind of consistency. Folks claim to hate all forms of nepotism yet give a select group of “nepo babies” a pass.

And if we're being honest - Sofia Coppola's nepotism is what makes her (few) good movies work. Who better to make something like Somewhere or On The Rocks? Both are stories of successful men told from the perspective of their daughters. She's the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola. She knows these types of people better than the average person.

The criticism of nepotism is also strange because people seem to associate nepotism with just the entertainment industry or the office world which is pretty silly. Nepotism is literally everywhere. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a good thing. I just wish folks that are critical of it would show some type of consistency in their criticism…

I say all of this because while Brandon Cronenberg is his own filmmaker, his work still comes right out of his father’s playbook (body horror, body modification, sex, violence, science fiction, surrogate bodies, new technology, etc). Last year we looked at the strong similarities between the work of Brandon & David (click here to read) and not much has changed with Infinity Pool (a movie I enjoyed). 

I don't see this as a bad thing. I have no problem with one of the most influence filmmakers (David Cronenberg) rubbing off on his own flesh & blood. Everyone else “borrows” from David. Why not his own son?

The Death Of David Cronenberg /
Infinity Pool

Crash /
Infinity Pool

Shivers /
Infinity Pool

The Dead Zone /
Infinity Pool

I highly doubt Brandon laid out these scenes in a calculated attempt to pay homage to his father. If anything he would probably try to avoid it. But the similarities are there even if coincidental.

Unlike the John David Washington’s of the world, Brandon Cronenberg doesn’t weirdly downplay who his father his. He doesn’t play it up either. He just casually acknowledges it in a matter of fact kind of way.

He’s my father, so I’m very influenced by him in that sense. We have some of the same genes, I grew up with him and have a close relationship with him – I’ve never rejected him as a means of rebellion. So he’s definitely influenced who I am and my interests, but I wasn’t influenced by his films or him as a filmmaker, because I just don’t have that relationship with them - Brandon Cronenberg (Denofgeek.com)

If anything it’s the senior Cronenberg that does all the bragging like a proud dad…

After a tragic accident while staying on a resort, a couple with pre-existing marital problems find themselves in way over their heads in a world of violence, corrupt laws, and all around hedonism. Brandon Cronenberg also continues to explore the idea of surrogate bodies like he did in Antiviral & Possessor (Infinity Pool is a lot more in line with Possessor). This specific aspect of the movie comes right out of his father’s playbook. 

And the similarities aren’t super obvious but Infinity Pool would make for an interesting double feature with Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. From the masks to the orgies - it’s all there (I’m sure there’s an essay or think piece on the weird secret activities of the rich & powerful somewhere out there)…

Eyes Wide Shut/
Infinity Pool

Eyes Wide Shut/
Infinity Pool

Cronenberg also appears to pull from Kubrick during a home invasion scene that comes off exactly like a reworking of the home invasion scene in A Clockwork Orange...

A Clockwork Orange /
Infinity Pool

A Clockwork Orange /
Infinity Pool

A Clockwork Orange /
Infinity Pool

Perhaps there's some Argento influence in there as well...

Suspiria / Infinity Pool

Suspiria /
Infinity Pool

The general negative criticism of Infinity Pool is that it’s good until the final act where everything sort of falls apart and gets a little too “crazy”. The movie does sort of go off the rails but that’s what I liked about it. It’s about a downward spiral in to strange debauchery and that’s essentially what the film shows.


Infinity Pool might be the best film I’ve seen all year but I don't know if that’s because it’s actually really good or if there isn’t much to chose from these days. Either way this is a fun movie for folks that enjoy the recent/semi-recent films of the Cronenberg Family.