The Current War (2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Current War is a historical drama which premiered in 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Two years later, in 2019, a slightly different version was released in movie theatres across the US. This review is based on the second version from 2019.

 

The topic of this drama is the rivalry between two famous inventors: Thomas Edison who was in favour of Direct Current (DC) and George Westinghouse who was in favour of Alternate Current (AC).

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Executive producer: Martin Scorsese

** Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

** Writer: Michael Mitnick

** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: 107 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison (1847-1931) - an inventor

** Tuppence Middleton as Mary Edison (1855-1884) – Edison’s first wife (they were married in 1871)

** Tom Holland as Samuel Insull (1859-1938) – Edison’s right-hand man

 

The second group

** Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse (1846-1914) – an inventor

** Katherine Waterston as Marguerite Westinghouse (1842-1914) – George’s wife (they were married in 1867)

** Stanley Townsend as Franklin Pope (1840-1895) – an engineer who works for Westinghouse

 

The third group

** Matthew Macfadyen as J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) – a banker

** Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) – an inventor

 

Since this historical drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. 

 

Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for practical purposes or dramatic reasons. But the basic story is true.

 

In this drama, we follow the lives of the two famous inventors during more than a decade (1880-1893). We also follow a third inventor (Nikola Tesla) who moved from Edison to Westinghouse.

 

When Tesla came to the US, he worked for Edison, but after a while they had a falling out, and Tesla decided to leave Edison. Later, he worked with Westinghouse.

 

Tesla was in favour of AC. He tried to convince Edison that DC was the wrong way to go. When he failed to do this, he left Edison and joined Westinghouse, who was also in favour of AC.

 

What do reviewers say about this historical drama?

 

Here are the results of three review aggregators:

 

65 percent = IMDb

42 percent = Meta

32 percent = Rotten Tomatoes

 

As you can see, the ratings are not impressive.

 

While the first rating (IMDb) is average, the second rating (Meta) is harsh, and the third rating (Rotten Tomatoes) is even worse. It corresponds to less than two stars on Amazon.

 

Are the low ratings justified? If you ask me, the answer is yes. The low ratings are fully justified. 

 

Why? 

 

What is wrong? 

 

This drama has several flaws. 

 

Let me explain.

 

# 1. The story is not always easy to follow, unless you already know the basic facts about the rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse.

 

# 2. The sound is often muffled. Sometimes it is difficult to hear what the actors are saying.

 

# 3. The images are often blurred. The pictures are not always sharp and clear. Perhaps this is done deliberately. But if this is the case, I must say this is not a good idea.

 

# 4. The chronology of major events is false in at least two cases:

 

The first case

Franklin Pope, an engineer who works for Westinghouse, is killed by an accident. He is electrocuted!

 

In the drama, this accident takes place around 1890, which is three years before the Chicago Fair.

 

In the real world, this accident took place in 1895, which is two years after the Chicago Fair.

 

The second case

The first prisoner to be executed by an electric chair is William Francis Kemmler.

 

In the drama, this happens in 1893, when the Chicago Fair opens. According to the drama, these two events happen at the same time.

 

This impression is created by cross-cutting scenes from the execution with scenes from the opening of the fair.

 

In the real world, the execution took place in 1890, which is three years before the Chicago Fair.

 

Conclusion

The conflict between Edison and Westinghouse was very real. It is a fascinating story which deserves to be told. But this drama is not successful at all.

 

Several famous names are associated with this production. But this does not help. This is not enough to save it. 

 

Having several famous names does not guarantee a good result. In this case, the result is a big disappointment.

 

The low ratings mentioned above are fully justified. This drama is fatally flawed. This is why it cannot get more than two stars (a rating of 40 percent).

 

PS. Westinghouse is a documentary film about the life and times of George Westinghouse.

 

This film, which premiered in 2008, is much better than The Current War.

 

*****

The Current War

A historical drama

First version released in 2017

Second version released in 2019

 

*****