The Current War (2017)

Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | 108 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Oliver Powell, Sophia Ally, Tuppence Middleton, Woody Norman, Tom Holland, Matthew Macfadyen, Dominic Coleman, Corey Johnson, Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon, Stanley Townsend, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Davies, Nigel Whitmey, Simon Manyonda, Celyn Jones, Iain McKee, Ekow Quartey, Will Irvine

At the end of the nineteenth century, a vicious war was fought over who should supply the United States of America with electricity. A battle between crowd favorite Thomas Edison and the more stolid George Westinghouse. Also known as the ‘War of the Streams’. In ‘The Current War’ (2017), this war is portrayed by Michael Shannon (Westinghouse) and star actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Edison) who is the go-to choice for playing arrogant geniuses, think Alan Turing in ‘The Imitation Game’ (2014) ) and ‘Doctor Strange’ (2016). And although Cumberbatch shows strong playing here, as always, his Edison is somewhat reminiscent of his version of Sherlock Holmes, but with an American accent.

Edison bet on the wrong horse (DC) and emerge as an unsportsmanlike competitor and demagogue. He sowed fear by describing Westinghouse’s alternating current as life-threatening and giving a series of demonstrations in which various animals were electrocuted with alternating current. In doing so, he inadvertently laid the foundation for the electric chair, something that has not done his legacy any good. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, however, does not take sides and his Edison comes off sympathetically in ‘The Current War’, just like the flamboyant Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) and Westinghouse, whose dull image is boosted with exciting flashbacks to the American Civil War.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon mainly wants to enchant the viewer with beautiful, many digitally processed images, a frantic montage and restless camera work. Perhaps he is afraid that this history will not captivate the viewer enough, or perhaps he hopes to better capture the dynamics of this period full of wonderful inventions and constant change. As a result, however, it’s not until the second half of the film, when Gomez-Rejon slows down, that we really get into the story and sympathize with the protagonists in this epic race.