The Current War
4 stars
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Stars: Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon
Duration: 107 minutes
Class: PG-13
KRS Releasing Ltd

Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Holland join forces once again – as two of America’s greatest inventors they battle it out in the war of the currents, aspiring to be the first man to provide electric power across the United States.

Cumberbatch stars as inventor Thomas Edison, as he unveils his greatest creation. Yet he wasn’t alone in harnessing electrical power. Rival industrialist George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) hears of Edison’s achievements, and, having been experimenting with current, wants to meet with Edison and compare notes, as it were. Edison snubs him, however, thereby igniting a rivalry that would last decades as the two men race against each other to bring their different versions of power – DC (direct current) vs AC (alternating current) – to every state in the Union.

Considering the star wattage that powers the film, The Current War does not light up the screen as much you would expect. It starts off quite promisingly as, in 1880, an elegantly-dressed crowd of well-heeled men and women disembark from a train and walk across a dark field in the middle of the night only for the land to be lit up magnificently as if by magic by Edison, celebrating his new invention and ushering in the dawn of a new technological century.

However, from thereon in, the script by Michael Mitnick, rushes through the next 15 years or so, cramming as much of the minutiae of the technology as possible, while on the other hand leaving little time for the intricacies of the rivalry bet­ween the two men to really take hold. Moreover, the film seems to assume we know everything about the workings of electrical power, which only contributes to much head scratching and moments of frustration.

By the time we meet them, Edison has created light bulbs and is in the process of experimenting with the phonograph. He is arrogant, smug, self-centred and super-protective of his inventions and seemingly always trying to get funding to see them through. Westinghouse, in the meantime, is a successful industrialist and a man willing to share his work for the greater good; and much is made of their totally contrasting characters as scenes unfold illustrating their different modi operandi, their relationships with family and workers. Little time is devoted to their backgrounds, their genius and what it was that sparked their inventiveness.

The introduction of a third genius of their time, Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), who worked first for Edison before falling on hard times and eventually ending up working with Westinghouse, only serves to complicate matters further.

If the story doesn’t quite gel, and the characters are not given the depth they deserve, at least the performances are strong enough to keep the audience’s interests from fading. Cumberbatch channels Edison’s genius, charisma and in­sufferableness with the casual aplomb we are used to. He is confident in his dealings with presidents and financiers and genuinely de­voted to his wife Mary and his children (the wonderfully-monikered Dot and Dash), while not averse to some very dirty dealings as he tries to discredit Westinghouse by insinu­ating to anyone who would listen (oftentimes the press) that AC is dangerous; while leading to a fascinating (if grisly) subplot about the invention of the electric chair.

Shannon, who has built a re­markable career playing an assortment of quirky and psychotic characters, projects a successful man who reached his status after years of hard work; a man who appreciates his workers; and one who is genuinely puzzled by Edison’s refusal to collaborate, his business nous appreciating what they could have achieved together.

Holland adds a nice touch as Edison’s loyal personal assistant Samuel Insull, who expertly and diplomatically deals with his employer’s many foibles; “you’re me, but more human,” Edison drolly comments. The inventor’s chief sponsor, legendary financier JP Morgan, is played with just the right combination of exasperation and excitement by Matthew McFadyen.

Yes, The Current War is very much a man’s club – the women pretty much getting the short end of the stick. Tuppence Middleton plays Mary Edison with grace for the short while she is on screen; while Kathleen Waterston, as Marguerite Westinghouse, is the epitome of the modern wife of the times.

Milo Ventimiglia in The Art of Racing in the RainMilo Ventimiglia in The Art of Racing in the Rain

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