Tom Hiddleston has it: the bent, raw-boned posture of Hank Williams, not to mention those deep Alabama inflections. Coached by executive producer/country recording artist Rodney Crowell, Hiddleston emulates the tone of Williams’ singing voice if not the pain. Then again, few singers have known such pain, physically as well as emotionally.
Drawing from the biography by Colin Escott, George Merritt and William MacEwen, writer-director Marc Abraham knits together a brilliant screenplay that carries the singer from dimly lit honky-tonks to the stage of the Grand Ole’ Opry. I Saw the Light sketches the poverty and deprivation of Williams’ upbringing, the mystery of his creativity, the physical agony of spina bifida, the tempestuous marriage to Audrey (Elizabeth Olsen), the sickness of alcoholism, his dependence on pills, the grueling regimen of a touring country singer in those days and the understated brilliance of his best songs. Elegantly composed and paced, I Saw the Light is one of the best musical biographies in many seasons. The cast is superb.
