THE CURRENT WAR: More Heat Than Light In This Undercharged Historical Drama
Acquired by the Weinstein Company after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival two years ago, and shelved due to the allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s The Current War has been released to UK audiences, its US release set for October.
You might think that the 22 month delay from September 2017 might’ve given sufficient time to add some ‘spark’ to the film (the light/electricity puns start here) and create some narrative focus deserving of its stellar cast. Indeed, it was re-cut, adding five scenes and cutting 10 minutes. Sadly, it hasn’t been worth the wait. While the cast put in a solid, if slightly uninspired shift, Rejon‘s glitzy style jars with the story, resulting in an unfocused account of a fascinating historical story, ultimately generating more heat than light.
Shannon Spark’s Helps Illuminate the Dark
Michael Mitnik‘s script wastes no time with long-winded exposition as The Current War opens. A title card tells us the world is ‘lit by fire’ – a fact which Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is trying to change, as in the opening scene he presents his direct current (DC) electrical system to investors, illuminating the dark from within his circle of lightbulbs. But he’s not the only one trying to change the way the world’s lighting – so too is George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), inventor of the railway air break, wearer of big mustache and large sideburns and, in contrast to Edison, a proponent of the alternating current (AC) electrical system – a cheaper, stronger, but allegedly more dangerous system. Add in Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), a Serbian-American inventor and engineer, and you’ve got yourself the ‘war of the currents’.
If there’s a ‘winner’ to the three-way acting war, it’s Shannon, who brings a depth to Westinghouse that rarely comes to the surface in the remaining duo of this AC/DC trio. He seems to stand still in the often exhausting pace of the film, feeding us bread-and-butter internal conflict in the midst of Rejon‘s impressive yet somewhat incongruous cinematic style.
Hoult‘s best scenes are also found when he shares the frame with Shannon, though the trouble with Tesla is not with Hoult, who does well with what he’s given, which is fairly little. In one scene, Westinghouse asks Tesla whether it’s true that he was born during a lightning strike. Tesla confirms the tale and it was then that I wished I was watching that film. As it is, Hoult – and Tesla’s legacy – is unfairly underserved, with Mitnick using him mostly as a plot device to further Westinghouse and Edison’s arcs, rather than fleshing him out in his own right.
Cumberbatch is absolutely fine as Edison. But that’s no surprise, as this is Cumberbatch playing the perennial Cumberbatch character: Clever Man. From Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Doctor Strange in the MCU to Dominic Cummings in Brexit: The Uncivil War, Cumberbatch too often appears happy to play Sherlock with varying haircuts. If you were hoping this was the Brit trying something new – ‘Cumberbatch goes electric’ if you will – this ain’t it.
Moreover, the personal competition between Edison and Westinghouse, historically accurate or not, feels contrived and, in Edison’s case, somewhat contradictory. Towards the start of the film, we’re shown an inconsiderate Edison choosing not to stop his train and meet an expecting and polite Westinghouse. The origin of the antagonism, fueled by a wounded Westinghouse? Nope. Instead, it’s Edison who starts the ‘war’ with Westinghouse by opportunistically alleging that his rival’s current is lethal. He even coins the term ‘Westinghouse’ as a verb: to kill by electricity.
As far as I can tell, this is sprung from nothing personal, only a sense of professional rivalry. This motivation is confused, however, when we’re also presented with Edison as a fiercely principled man (at least initially) who refuses to have his inventions be used for anything that can kill, turning down huge sums of money for munition contracts. Would such a man so set against having a legacy for killing be so eager to have another man’s legacy be tarnished in precisely the same way? Maybe I missed that connection.
Bright Spots
It’s not all machismo competition however, as Mitnick gives slightly better than expected time to the female characters, particularly Katherine Waterstone’s Marguerite, Westinghouse’s wife. Whilst one doesn’t need a lightbulb moment to read the well-telegraphed fate of Edison’s wife Mary (played by Tuppence Middleton), Waterstone and Shannon‘s relationship is pleasantly surprising, human and developed. The same can’t quite be said for relationship between Edison and Samuel Insull, played by Tom Holland – a role which, as historically accurate as it may be, seems to exist because the producers were able to get Tom Holland.
A Directorial Miscalculation
Perhaps the biggest miscue of the picture, though, is the style Rejon deploys. The director’s previous film Me andEarl and the Dying Girl, a touching coming-of-age story showed off Rejon‘s adroit skills behind the camera, but in a way that felt much more appropriate to and enhancing of the story. There’s a lot to like here – split screens, super wide angles in office settings, offset framing – but its over the top, oscillating between exhausting and a little tedious, as though he’s so excited to tell you the story of these important men that he’s blustering it out at break neck speed, soundtracked by a near-constant throbbing score by Hauschka and Dustin O’Halloran.
It’s all technically good directing, but it’s a style that’s unsuited to the story, as though The Beatles opted for Lars Ulrich to be their drummer. A double pedal and crashing cymbals are skillful as hell, but it’s not quite right for “Ticket to Ride”.
More Heat Than Light
The film finds its feet and has its best moments when it’s content to play “Ticket to Ride” with Ringo‘s drumming, i.e. when it slows down, sticks to the basics and understands that the war of the currents is an interesting and important slice of history that needn’t be forced to be overly dramatic via visual embellishments. A backhanded compliment, no doubt, but in its most enjoyable sections, it reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, another film about a personal competition in the 19th century with a role for Nikola Tesla. The two would make a decent double bill, though Rejon would have to be satisfied with second billing.
The Current War admirably attempts to be something bigger than it ultimately is, with it’s a-list cast and interesting-but-misfiring style: as David Bowie’s Tesla in Nolan’s film put it, ‘You know the phrase, “Man’s reach exceeds his grasp?”. It’s a lie: man’s reach exceeds his nerve.’
What did you think? What’s your favourite film about a historic or personal rivalry? Let us know in the comments below!
The Current War was released in UK cinemas on July 26, 2019 and US cinemas October 4, 2019. For all international released dates, see here.
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