I Saw the Light (2016)

This bio-drama of the country singer, song-writer, and music legend Hiram King "Hank" Williams (1923–1953) premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, although in its broader release it has garnered consistently mediocre reviews.  It's a classic case of a powerful story poorly told.  In a career that lasted just six years before he died at the age of twenty-nine, Williams sold 6 million records and had 36 songs in Billboard's Top Ten for country and western, 11 of which were #1 hits.  The movie also struggles to rise above a very common story — a huge musical talent who self-destructs in a deeply personal tragedy — alcohol and drug addictions, a stormy marriage, more women and marriages, physical exhaustion from endless travel and hard living, an overbearing parent, and everyone wanting a piece of you.  The British actor Tom Hiddleston does a fine job of singing Williams' deep-south country blues.  The title of the movie comes from one of Williams's best-known gospel songs, which lyrics are poignant, to say the least, given his sad story:

I wandered so aimless life filled with sin
I wouldn't let my dear savior in
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night
Praise the Lord I saw the light

 

I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light

 

Just like a blind man I wandered along
Worries and fears I claimed for my own
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light

 

I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light

 

I was a fool to wander and stray
Straight is the gate and narrow's the way
Now I have traded the wrong for the right
Praise the Lord I saw the light