Can this slick story do Hank Williams’s songs justice?

I SAW THE LIGHT Running time: 2hrs 3min Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Maddie Hasson,Tom Hiddleston Director: Marc Abraham I SAWthe Light is the title of one of the most cherished songs by country legend Hank Williams, as well as that of a polished new biopic from producer-turneddirector Marc Abraham ( Flash of Genius). But another Williams standard, Lovesick Blues, would have been a more appropriate designation for this heavily dramatic portrayal of the man’s short and turbulent life in a film that focuses more on his many marital woes than on the brilliant music he created.

Carried by an uncanny turn from British actor Tom Hiddleston, who convincingly swaps his Loki helmet for a cowboy hat and guitar, the story – based on the nonfiction book by Colin Escott – features the usual ups, downs, binge drinking and womanising of your typical artist’s biography, with lots of screen time devoted to Williams’s extremely rocky marriage to Audrey, played with zest by Elizabeth Olsen.

But with recent biopics like Love & Mercy, Get On Up and Straight Outta Compton making headway in an otherwise playedout genre, it’s unfortunate that Light feels both too traditional and too concerned with showcasing the life behind the music, instead of trying to explain why Williams was one of the greatest American musicians of the last century – a man who inspired both Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan – setting the stage for the rock ’n’ roll and folk movements that followed.

This picture could garner kudos for its strong lead performances, with Hiddleston bellowing Williams’s ditties like no actor ever has. Still, after past efforts like the 1964 bio Your Cheatin’ Heart and the 2012 indie The Last Ride failed to do justice to the legend, it’s unlikely that this one will remain an essential cinematic memoir.

Chronicling the period between 1944, when 21-year-old Hank married Audrey at a Texaco station in Alabama, to his death in 1953 because of excessive alcohol and drug abuse, Abraham’s screenplay follows the singer’s rise from local radio performer to bestselling country superstar.

Directing in a slick manner, Abraham provides a convincing visual backdrop to the proceedings, using DP Dante Spinotti ( Heat) to bathe the singer in warm shadows, with newsreelstyle footage that includes a snippet of interviews with Williams’s first record label boss, Fred Rose (Bradley Whitford).

Those sequences, as well as one where Williams is questioned by a reporter (David Krumholtz), offer some insights into his thought process, though he doesn’t reveal a whole lot – which is maybe why it has always been hard to craft a biopic around him. His songs say far too much already, and perhaps no story can ever do them justice. – Hollywood Reporter