TESLA: Lacks A Spark

For many, the name of Thomas Edison is synonymous with the illuminating revolution of the late 19th century. Through many of his patents and inventions, humanity would enter the 20th century with a newfound sense of wonderment and exploration. Though, as happens many times while reexamining the past, he was not the only brilliant mind at the forefront of change. The current wars between direct current and alternative brought Edison and Nikola Tesla face to face to prove which was more efficient and which was safer in a battle for the most contracts. While Tesla’s seemingly won, the notoriety remained with Edison – Nikola Tesla vanishing into obscurity.

That is until the 1960s when Tesla would be brought to the forefront, a modern Leonardo da Vinci ahead of his time as the once unimaginable is now a part of our daily lives. Through his alternative currents, hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls, his Tesla coil, and the belief he could transmit images and messages across the world wirelessly, Nikola Tesla was a visionary that we have only just begun to truly appreciate. And as stories and mysteries of the man become more revealed and understood through time, so does the need to update our cinematic depiction of the inventor.

While Tesla, from writer and director Michael Almereyda, immediately paints a picture of Edison, played by Kyle MacLachlan, it takes its time building on the story of Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke). Beginning from his time employed under Edison, each segment is broken down into each milestone and challenge the inventor faced throughout his life. With each new section introduced, the film’s narrator Anne Morgan (Eve Henson) is presented still in period attire, though with a laptop in what can be presumed is behind the set. She fills in the details of not only Nikola Tesla, but the investors and individuals that come in and out of his life. Unfortunately, this is where the film begins to lose steam.

With the inserted breakers, the extra information is welcomed but feels more like a PowerPoint presentation than a full-length feature film. When we do return to the narrative, many times brought back by Ethan Hawke’s Tesla walking in front of a projected image, it is hard to find that flow, leaving you to question the film’s editing choices and narrative structure. Anne’s breaks are meant to be unconventional storytelling of an unconventional man, but it does little to heighten the film or the story it wants to tell.

If I am honest, the film is informative, but never truly dives deep into any one thing. Many elements of the inventor’s life are brushed upon, leaving viewers unfamiliar with the inventor unsure what is being referenced or discussed on screen. Honestly, I found myself watching with my iPad open for further research and understanding. This was most necessary as Tesla tackles the invention and implementation of the first electric chair and the first hydroelectric power plant – a plant that would produce so much electricity it would reach Buffalo, NY. I wanted to know more, leaving the film as more of a primer for future research.

At its core, Tesla is a character study. The film is more concerned with the man than the inventions. And Ethan Hawke delivers quiet and contemplative performance. Like Nikola Tesla, Hawke brings not only the mind of an idealist to the forefront but quietly integrates the current belief that Tesla may have also been autistic. There is a withdrawal in his eyes as he converses with others, contrasted by the intense stare at other times that lends to a lack of social skills. There is a laser focus that can be seen not only in the dedication to his work but in the words behind the inventions’ explanations from Hawke.

But it is not just the eyes or speech that alludes to this understanding but also the body language. There is a withdrawal from the public that can be clearly detected not only in the introverted behavior of Tesla but also while standing in a crowded room. He is silent and clearly uncomfortable, expressing quietly his phobias as he interacts with others. It’s a brilliant portrayal that Hawke blends easily into making Tesla that more believable and empathetic as a character and a person.

At one point in the film, Anne Morgan (daughter of J.P. Morgan) tells Tesla that Idealism can not work hand in hand with capitalism. And there is a sad truth to the acceptance that success requires a balance in both. There is an even sadder truth as you come to understand that Tesla lives his final years out in poverty. A man with little financial prowess, he was swindled, taken advantage of, and left penniless with his greatest vision only partially realized.

”A man who says he does not care about money can find himself tormented by the lack of it.” The money would be the torment of Tesla’s career. Where Edison was plagued with a need to spend his money as fast as he made it, he would at least continue to find a way to make more. Tesla’s inventions provided little returns as he went along through his life. He was unable to fund his own, having relinquished his wattage royalties in his contract with Westinghouse, and found locking in investors on his wild ideas impossible.

His tunnel vision focus brought many of his inventions to perfect fruition, but his blindside to the ways of capitalism and economic advance left him with no means to continue bringing them to life. As the film proposes, had someone, a lawyer, or a friend of proper counsel, been at his side throughout these ventures, he might have faired differently. The stark contrast to the validity of this proposed possibility is seen early on when the invention of his revolutionary motor is negotiated by his friend from Budapest – leaving him with the potential to a grand fortune. Yet, with his friend gone, his contract and further ventures do not fair as well under only his guard alone.

In these moments, the film acts more of a warning to those seeking careers as inventors and entrepreneurs. That to have an idea and to create is one thing. But to truly succeed, you must have an understanding of financial ideals to truly find success in the world – lest another swoop in and leave you with nothing. It is in these moments, Tesla speaks to the modern age, breaking itself of a biographical narrative and becoming percentile applicable to the future.