Two awkward and anti-social suburban teenagers bond over a mysterious TV show. Inwardly, the show is a vessel for coming to terms with their identity in an uncanny and collapsing world.

It would be both hard and unfair to box this film in any of the genres it exists and thrives in. I Saw the TV Glow’s distinctive feature is the unsettlingly consistent atmosphere of uncertainty and mystery that envelops this time-jumping coming-of-age story. Jane Schoebrun’s second feature, after their breakout indie horror We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, weaves a claustrophobic story of forging one’s identity alongside cult TV and fandom.

Beginning in the mid-90s, the film follows the ebb and flow of the tongue-tied relationship between two awkward teenagers, Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine). Outwardly, they bond over a cult TV show The Pink Opaque, a supernatural teen drama steeped in mythology. Inwardly, the show serves as an outpost for their shared alienation and difficulty expressing themselves in a world not suited to, nor encouraging of them. While Maddy informs Owen that they are ‘into girls’, Owen’s self-expression is so stilted that he sheepishly admits he has been too afraid to even consider the question.

Distinctions between their fandom and their lives, fiction and reality, become porous and unstable as their fragile identities become disturbingly tied to the TV show. The film holds and develops this aura through strong acting and a keen eye for detail and world-building. However, the ponderous script and sometimes over-stylised choices (the bubble-gum pink comic sans style font), were ultimately symptomatic of the film losing its way at points as it jumped between different times.

Despite the last third feeling heavy, in its depiction of disaffection, shyness, and the way we can externalise ourselves in what we love in adolescence, the film sparkles. There is a strong queer/trans association with these themes, but it will be affecting for anyone who has ever felt uncomfortable and out of place.