(Benedict
Cumberbatch plays Thomas Edison)
A drama based on the relative merits of the
alternating and direct current systems does not make for electrifying cinema. (Review
by Patrick Compton - 6/10)
The
Current War is a handsomely made, but dramatically
inert, period drama about the tussle for supremacy between Thomas Edison,
George Westinghouse and (occasionally) Nikola Tesla in the race to
commercialise the invention of electricity in the United States.
The film, set in the 1880s, spends little
time on the scientific issues involved, beyond some vague, unenlightening
waffle about AC and DC and how the one is supposedly safer albeit less
commercially viable than the other, preferring instead to highlight the rivalry
between the two main antagonists, Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and
Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) with occasional appearances by the largely
sidelined Tesla (Nicholas Hoult).
The film, a long-shelved casualty of the
Weinstein Company collapse, is a sturdy attempt to bring its dry subject to
life, but for all the efforts of Cumberbatch, Shannon and Hoult, not to mention
some intricate direction and skittish editing, the film remains a relatively
dull affair despite a somewhat desperate attempt to heat up the drama with a
sub-plot about the invention of the electric chair.
The opposing tendencies of scientific
integrity and human drama are always difficult to integrate; unfortunately
Edison’s character is cool to the point of chilly, while we have to rely on
Westinghouse’s relationship with his ambitious wife for any kind of human
interest. In some ways, Tesla is the most interesting character of the lot, but
is largely passed over.
The impressive cast do their best, but the
movie’s problem largely lies with Michael Mitnick’s scatty script that tries to
introduce too many points of focus, resulting in a frustrating narrative
hodgepodge.
The
Current War is presently on commercial release in
Durban. – Patrick Compton
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