'The Current War' Tells The Story We Seem To Forget
Starring Tom Holland, Matthew Macfadyen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tuppence Middleton, Katherine Waterston, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Shannon
PG-13
Drama, Biography
Run time: 1 hr, 47 min
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
In theaters October 25, 2019
This movie may be the winner of the best cast combined with the worst marketing out there. The Current War was a victim of the Weinstein fallout and debuted two years later than it was supposed to. Then, it appeared on the scene very quietly and with the phrase “Director’s Cut” on the end of it. While we don’t know what was added or removed to create this cut, it’s the perfect length - because how often do you really get a historical drama that clocks in under two hours?
The story is all about the Edison-Westinghouse (Cumberbatch and Shannon) feud, and the characters who flit in and out of their story, such as J.P. Morgan (Macfadyen) and Nikola Tesla (Hoult). There’s a race to light up the whole country and whose names will be remembered throughout history as successfully providing electricity to the major cities of America. There are patent wars, attempted sabotage through the press and the World’s Fair as the ultimate prize. While this may not sound like the most on-the-edge-of-your-seat drama, it fills in a lot of blanks about history you may never have explored.
For a part of the movie, it can get a little fuzzy to remember which white guy with a rough haircut is working for who, but it doesn’t take long to realize that Spider-Man is working with Dr. Strange and they are fighting against Michael Shannon and X-Man’s Beast. Wait, wrong franchise, sorry. This one is the battle of the electricity, and while Tesla is a name associated with some crazy inventions now, just how much he had to do with the starting of electric lights isn’t often remembered. While I’m not totally sure how much this movie cleared up for me, it definitely made me curious to learn more about this saga.
One of the great tragedies of this film is how it was hardly heard of until it finally appeared on theater marquees. I think it had the potential to do well in the Oscar race if it hadn’t had such unfortunate circumstances around it. Everyone’s acting is solid and getting to hear Tom Holland actually be British is a joy. While I’m not sure that I’d recommend everyone rush out to a theater and see it, this movie is well worth a watch on your home tv - even if all it does is inspire you to do your own research about the Edison/Tesla feud.