Review: The Current War

The true story of the rivalry between arrogant inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and industrialist George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), in their race to provide electricity to the masses in the 1890s. A subplot involves Edison’s involvement in the creation of the Electric Chair for criminal executions. Nicholas Hoult turns up as Nikola Tesla, a genius thinker but a dreadful money manager who at various points works for the two men.

 

Beware a film with a troubled journey to the screen when it comes with two well-known actors, a potentially fascinating subject, and a director with good previous work. So it is that this 2019 film from director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and screenwriter Michael Mitnick (“The Giver”) ended up gaining a release after being shelved in 2017 due to creepy Harvey Weinstein’s…er…issues (It was actually filmed in late 2016). After a not-so great premiere at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, the director ended up reshooting and retooling it before its eventual theatrical release in the U.S. in late 2019. I ended up seeing it on Australian cable TV in 2021, though its official release here was in early-to-mid 2020. Got all that? I enjoyed the director’s earlier “Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl” very much, and the real-life story seemed begging to be told. I figured Benedict Cumberbatch would be a good choice for Thomas Edison, and I usually like Michael Shannon on screen too. I was ready for an enjoyable and interesting period biopic.

 

Then it started. To be honest folks, I think this one was shelved for more than just creepy Harvey reasons. Long story short: It’s a good story not very well-told by a miscast director. The story sells itself, it’s great history. Sadly, Mr. Gomez-Rejon doesn’t trust the script or the actors and can’t help inserting himself into everything. Why in the hell are you employing fish-eye lenses into so many scenes, Mr. Director? It’s not nearly as fatal as “The Favourite”, in fact the film overall isn’t bad. It’s just so frustrating because it’s also not quite good, and I really think it could’ve been if it were directed by a filmmaker willing to step back and let the story tell itself for the most part. Instead it’s all a bit awkward and disappointing.

 

I admire the director and screenwriter Mitnick for their refusal to paint the characters as saintly, as the whole thing involving the electric chair was really quite an unseemly part of this story. It wasn’t a part of either man’s history that I was aware of previously. The performances by Cumberbatch, Shannon, and the underrated Nicholas Hoult as Tesla are persuasive enough under the trying circumstances. It’s absolutely none of their fault. However, for the most part I just wasn’t able to get into this because the director kept calling attention to himself with his filmic choices. The cinematographer here is South Korean lensman Chung-hoon Chung, whose previous work doesn’t seem to make him any more appropriate for this endeavour than the director. They’re a match made in hell here. Why would you want the guy who shot “Oldboy”, “Thirst” (which I loved, don’t get me wrong)  and “The Handmaiden” to shoot this historical story? There’s too many angles and unflattering close-ups that just don’t benefit the poor actors. Everything looks so loopy and cockamamie, with poor Michael Shannon lit in a manner that can only be described as ‘Satanic’. It’s a shame because he’s perfectly cast and perfectly fine in the role. Cumberbatch is good, but with the way he’s shot in some scenes he comes across a tad OTT because he hasn’t modulated his performance to compensate for the in-your-face shooting style.

 

An intriguing story badly presented to the point where I can’t really give this a recommendation. There are elements here I liked, particularly the basic story. It’s objectively a good-looking film at time, but the director makes the whole thing about him instead. It’s actually really annoying and off-putting. A disappointment, it makes me wonder just how bad the original cut must’ve been.

 

Rating: C+

 

 

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