Hank Williams is an endlessly fascinating character for fans of country\/gospel music. As self-destructive as he was talented, he died at the age of 29\u2013the Mozart of country music. Sixty years on, his body of work still stands the test of time. Bill Gaither\u2019s son Benji co-produced a moving, loosely fictionalized account of his final days called The Last Ride<\/em>, and now there\u2019s a new film on the horizon that promises to be more of a proper biopic, called I Saw the Light<\/em>. An unflinching look at the singer\u2019s sad legacy, it will probably draw comparisons to the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line<\/em>. Williams was a notorious philanderer, so perhaps it\u2019s no surprise that the MPAA has slapped an \u201cR\u201d on it, although by the description it appears to be primarily for language. Hank Williams is an endlessly fascinating character for fans of country\/gospel music. As self-destructive as he was talented, he died at the age of 29\u2013the Mozart of country music. Sixty years on, his body of work still stands the test of time. Bill Gaither\u2019s son Benji co-produced a moving, loosely fictionalized account of his final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3595,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,37],"tags":[328],"class_list":["post-24599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospel-singers","category-movies","tag-movies"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSome controversy has surrounded the film\u2019s casting\u00a0of British actor Tom Hiddleston as Williams. I have mixed feelings about the choice. On the one hand, he\u2019s a dead ringer for the country legend as far as looks go. On the other hand, he\u2019s, well, British. Not even American, let alone Southern. So, among others, Williams\u2019s own grandson has complained that the choice lacks authenticity, pointing to somebody like Matthew McConaughey as a better choice. I can see why he would feel that way, but then again, British actors have been playing American roles for quite some time now. Even iconic comic book characters like Superman and Batman have been taken over by Brits putting on a fake accent.
\nWhile I think Hiddleston is a superb actor, his American accent has been spotty in the past. And here, he not only has to speak the accent convincingly, but he has to sing Hank\u2019s classic hit songs convincingly. But I give him credit for doing all of his own recordings, and I like the rough, unfiltered feel of the clips I\u2019ve heard. It\u2019s nice to be reminded of a time when country singing wasn\u2019t as polished as pop music, a time when country songs had grit and depth of feeling to them. If they did this right, it could be a compelling piece of work. Ironic that it\u2019s titled after Williams\u2019s most gospel song, yet it is by no means clear that he ever saw that light for himself.
\n\u201cEverybody has a little darkness in \u2019em. I\u2019m talkin\u2019 about things like anger, sorrow, shame. I show it to them. And they hear it, and they don\u2019t have to take it home.\u201d
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6bKjhqvbHs8?rel=0&w=500&h=315<\/a>\n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"