Full Trailer For Tom Hiddleston's Hank Williams Biopic I SAW THE LIGHT
"Boy, I'm a professional at making a mess of things."
Tom Hiddleston seems to perfectly portray country music legend Hank Williams in this upcoming biopic called I Saw the Light. The movie premiered at TIFF a few months ago and although Hiddleston's performance was praised, the movie itself wasn't met with the greatest reviews. From what I've heard, the film was recut after that screening and the release date was pushed back.
The film was written and directed by Marc Abraham and it also stars Elizabeth Olsen, David Krumholtz, Bradley Whitford, and Cherry Jones. Here's a detailed synopsis:
Hank Williams wrote and recorded some of country music’s most enduring songs before his untimely death at age twenty-nine. These songs were fuelled by a blend of turmoil and heartbreak — not surprising considering the Alabama-born balladeer’s private life, which director Marc Abraham brings to the screen with a clear-eyed appreciation of the man’s complexity. Taking stock of the central moments in Williams’ too-short career, which began when he was barely a teenager, I Saw the Light focuses, as it should, on the flaws of an artist who was endearing to his audience and enraging to his wives and lovers.
At the core of this film is Tom Hiddleston’s magnificent performance as Hank. Not only does the English actor capture the singer’s charm and caprice, he also sings all the songs.(Hiddleston appears elsewhere at the Festival in Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise.)
When Hank marries Audrey Mae Sheppard (Elizabeth Olsen) at a gas station in 1944, success is only a few years away, but Audrey proves a challenge as she replaces Hank’s mother as the prime influence in his career. Though ambitious, Audrey is a woman of limited talent, and Williams is caught between listening to friends who tell him to remove her from his act and a wife who will listen to no one.
With fame, Williams grows increasingly erratic in his behaviour as alcoholism and drug abuse begin to take their toll. And yet the story really gets rolling when, at one of his concerts, Hank spies the young Billie Jean (Maddie Hasson), an aspiring singer who will eventually become his widow.
I Saw the Light opens on March 25th, 2016.