Two teenagers bond over their love of a supernatural TV show, but it is mysteriously cancelled.Two teenagers bond over their love of a supernatural TV show, but it is mysteriously cancelled.Two teenagers bond over their love of a supernatural TV show, but it is mysteriously cancelled.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
Emma Portner
- Mr. Melancholy
- (as Emma Porter)
- …
Timothy Griffin Allan
- Lance
- (as Timothy Allan)
Marlyn Bandiero
- Brenda's Friend
- (as Marilyn Bandiero)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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See A24's Film Slate for 2024
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCanadian dancer and choreographer Emma Portner plays four different roles in the film, three of them being villains in The Pink Opaque. She played Marco, the evil clown, and Mr. Melancholy. The only non-Pink Opaque character she plays is Amanda, Maddy's friend who originally began watching The Pink Opaque with her until they stopped being friends. Maddy later says "I feel like she's a secret agent sent here to make my life miserable" after bringing up how their friendship fell apart. The fact that she plays most of the villains in The Pink Opaque adds to the quote.
Featured review
Tearjerking period piece about coming out (or not) as gender-nonconforming
I feel I have to write an apologia for my rating, because this is actually an 8.5 film for me.
This is destined to become a cult classic. It's been written about plenty before how this captures a time before the internet accelerated fandom and yet while there was remarkable TV (escapism) being produced. Jane Schoenbrun's genius--besides a couple excellent transitions--is that she achieves art by producing questions, not answers.
The principal actors (including the boy who depicts the main character as a pre-teen) have to be commended, as it's got to be exceedingly difficult to act autism, or more to the point to depict a character who's emotionally distanced themself from reality due to the mental torture of being unable to express their authentic self. There are plenty of shining moments, and Brigette Lundy-Paine in particular achieves an enigmatic performance that will be worth returning to for cinephiles for the rest of time. But there are moments when even Brigette overacts (especially early on), and the other actors aren't always able to succeed in portraying awkward surfaces with resonant emotional sublimation.
The cinematography is quite good, although it doesn't rise to the greatest-of-all-time that would deserve a 10/10.
What the movie could really have done without is the voiceovers/direct addresses. Maybe that postmodern extravagance is supposed to be reminiscent of the '90s shows which are being evoked--although that seemed to be done more in kids' shows--but it doesn't add meaning to the film's narrative.
This is destined to become a cult classic. It's been written about plenty before how this captures a time before the internet accelerated fandom and yet while there was remarkable TV (escapism) being produced. Jane Schoenbrun's genius--besides a couple excellent transitions--is that she achieves art by producing questions, not answers.
The principal actors (including the boy who depicts the main character as a pre-teen) have to be commended, as it's got to be exceedingly difficult to act autism, or more to the point to depict a character who's emotionally distanced themself from reality due to the mental torture of being unable to express their authentic self. There are plenty of shining moments, and Brigette Lundy-Paine in particular achieves an enigmatic performance that will be worth returning to for cinephiles for the rest of time. But there are moments when even Brigette overacts (especially early on), and the other actors aren't always able to succeed in portraying awkward surfaces with resonant emotional sublimation.
The cinematography is quite good, although it doesn't rise to the greatest-of-all-time that would deserve a 10/10.
What the movie could really have done without is the voiceovers/direct addresses. Maybe that postmodern extravagance is supposed to be reminiscent of the '90s shows which are being evoked--although that seemed to be done more in kids' shows--but it doesn't add meaning to the film's narrative.
helpful•1315
- LikeallHungarians
- May 18, 2024
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Я видел свет телевизора
- Filming locations
- 601 Main St, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA(The Saint music venue)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,786,294
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $119,015
- May 5, 2024
- Gross worldwide
- $2,786,294
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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