The Current War: Director's Cut
Delayed two years by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and recut after a dismal 2017 festival debut, this historical drama is in the Weinstein tradition of casting top talents in historical roles in hopes of attracting both audiences and awards. In this case, Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, already a famous inventor at the time of the story. Having perfected the electric light bulb, he becomes engaged in a battle of innovation with George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) for domination in the nascent public electricity market.
Tom Holland (the current Spider-Man) plays Edison’s English assistant; Nicholas Hoult (Tolkien, The Favourite) is Nikola Tesla, the visionary inventor who worked with both men; and Matthew Macfadyen (HBO’s Succession) appears as J.P. Morgan, Edison’s financial backer. (Remarkably, Shannon is the only top-line American actor in this quintessentially American tale, if you don’t count Katherine Waterston, who plays Edison’s wife in a few scenes.)
It’s directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), who tries to keep the storytelling dynamic with canted cameras, extreme closeups, fragmented time lines and other cinematic tricks, but the real energy of the film comes from its remarkable true story. Viewers unfamiliar with how the country moved from gaslight to electricity in the late 19th century — and why the power grid is AC and not DC — will be fascinated by the conniving of Edison and Westinghouse, and by the unusual events (the first electrical execution, the 1896 Chicago World’s Fair) that decided the outcome.
If all this sounds less than thrilling, well, it’s no Reds. Attempts to dramatize the men’s family lives are largely extraneous to the story, and while Cumberbatch and Shannon do fine work — a final scene together is one of the movie’s most moving moments — the historical figures they’re playing remain more titanic than touching. It’s a Great Men Doing Great Things movie, these days something more at home on a streaming service than in a movie house.
Nevertheless, it is a hell of a story, told with top production values (fine, detailed sets and costumes), an engaging cast, luminous cinematography, and lots of scenes in fancy railway cars and lavish hotels. It looks great on a big screen, but it will serve viewers just as well on a big TV — running on alternating current. Sorry, Thomas.
Grade: B. Rated PG-13. Showing at the Carolina Cinemark and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: 101 Studios)
