January 4, 1903 - Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
(At
the time, I think it said something even more jarring, like "Thomas Edison
electrocutes an Elephant")
That
was my introduction to what the new film dubs The Current Wars*. It's a
fascinating bit of history that, if done right, is a great idea for a movie. I
mean, any story that drives a man to electrocute an elephant has to be good,
right? As soon as I saw the first trailer for this movie, I was pretty excited.
The problem is, that first trailer I saw came some time in 2018, and that was
actually a year after the movie was originally set to be released. Thanks to
the Weinstein scandal and a series of recuts, The Current War finally
arrived in theaters in wide release this weekend, over two years after it
premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. At this point, it carries
none of the Oscar buzz that it started with, and the nationwide release is
being specifically called The Current War: The Director's Cut to
emphasize that "we fixed it". The last movie I remember with this
much pedigree and release turmoil was Tulip Fever, which is not a movie
any project wants to be compared to.
*The
term wasn't invented for the movie.
While The
Current War definitely never shouldn't've had Oscar aspirations, I did like
the movie a good deal. It covers a little over a decade. The stakes are a
little dry to explain but easy enough to understand. Edison (Benedict
Cumberbatch) and his company have by far the best lightbulb available but uses
direct current to light it. Direct current is weak but safe to touch.
Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) uses a lightbulb design that rips Edison's off
and powers it with alternating current, which is what we're familiar with in
the present day. It's very powerful but the wires are dangerous to touch. Also,
the technology to harnass its potential hasn't been invented yet. Nikola Tesla
(Nicholas Hoult) has only figured AC out at the theoretic level. With their
parallel but seperate technologies, Edison and Westinghouse compete for the
contracts to light up cities across the country. Edison has his incredible fame
and the backing of JP Morgan (Matthew Macfadyen) to get an early lead.
Westinghouse has a better, cheaper product which allows him to take the lead
later. Edison combats this by stressing how dangerous Westinghouse's
alternating current is, resorting to demonstrations that kill animals with AC.
It's a story of hubris and the ways in which men will compromise themselves in
order to win. And it isn't simply a win for the sake of winning. Both
Westinghouse and Edison believe that their technology is the morally superior
option. Edison favors safety and the right of the inventor. Westinghouse values
the ability to bring the technology to even more people even easier. They each
have a moral code which guides and betrays them during the movie. It's a very
interesting story, although, with the wonky details and span of time covered,
it is probably better suited for a good non-fiction novel.
Virtually
every actor is squarely in his or her wheelhouse. Cumberbatch's Edison is a
headstrong maverick with poor interpersonal skills, much like his Sherlock or
Dr. Strange. Michael Shannon plays Westinghouse as a very reasonable man who
doesn't understand why everyone else can't see his vision as clearly as he
does. He's progressive but carries himself like the "old guard".
Nicholas Hoult plays Tesla as the smartest guy in the room and doesn't
apologize for it. His part of the story is always the first to be cut, partly
because Tesla's life was marked by failure at the time. He doesn't fit as
neatly into the story except he has to be present for a couple key points. This
was filmed before Succession, but it's funny how Macfadyen's JP Morgan
is the man Tom imagines himself as: confident and able to wield his power
successfully. Tom Holland plays Edison's assistant/protege and brings a similar
Peter Parker-to-Tony Stark reverence. The stealth MVP of the movie is Katherine
Waterston. She plays Westinghouse's wife and is the classic powerful woman who
makes the powerful man. Had this been a fictional narrative, she would've ended
the movie sitting on the Iron Throne.
This
was an odd choice for director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon after his 2015 Sundance
success Me & Earl & the Dying Girl (one of my favorite movies of
the last decade). The movies have similar energies, although they employ
different techniques. Me & Earl's structure allowed for a lot of
cutaways and asides. The Current War is very invasive. The camera often
pushes in like the camera operator is fighting for position to get the shot.
Close-ups feel hectic and almost accidental. It felt to me like the movie was
literally having trouble keeping up with everything happening in the story. It
took some getting used to it, but I liked the effect. It tricked my braining
into thinking that a lot of this patent discussion and business strategy was
more exciting that it really was.
The
movie has some clear problems. It juggles a lot of story, drops the ball occasionally,
then stops to try to pick it back up (i.e. the flow is awkward at times). It
stumbles in its attempts to make the driest subject matter more interesting.
The acting is more sturdy than spectacular. I really like the subject matter
though and am likely to rewatch this.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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