Seeing more people share their reactions to I Saw the TV Glow has been curious to me because so many mention that the film moved them to tears, while I not only didn't cry, but felt in a sense that I had been prevented from crying--that the emotions evinced by the film were distressing, relatable, sharply familiar, but never allowed to resolve, no matter how natural, how obvious, or how close that moment of resolution seemed. When Owen and Maddie are crossing the football field after Maddie reveals [spoiler], I could feel my own emotions growing more expectant with each half-worried-half-scared "Maddie" forced out of Owen's mouth, sharing with both characters on screen the knowledge of how close escaping this thing is, that all Owen needs to do is say a different name and everything could change. Scene after scene there are ways out, all clearly terrifying to Owen and yet so close at hand that I could never stop myself believing that this time might be different, a closeness you learn scares Owen as much as anything. It's a small grace for him, really, that the film even allows him a single real moment of relief at being reunited with Maddie, even as we are denied it, seeing in that strange supermarket pose the next slow, dreadful crescendo begin. Anyway:
