'The Current War' A Review

The Current War is a historical drama that follows the titular struggle between Edison(Benedict Cumberbatch) and Westinghouse(Michael Shannon) over electric power delivery. The film begins with Edison unveiling his lightbulb and pushing his DC current which is cheaper and cleaner than gaslights. Westinghouse, after being snubbed by Edison, uses AC current which is cheaper than DC and more expansive in direct competition as the electric power sweeps the country.

Cumberbatch as the defacto lead plays the obsessive, driven, self-involved and self-aggrandizing Edison with focus and measure but the problem is Edison himself was kind of an asshole and the performance bears this out. The more compelling character(and performance) comes from Shannon. In one of his most reserved roles Shannon conveys a quiet confidence and morality with implications of darkness and a history we see only one, extremely gratifying, glimpse of. Although the two share only two brief scenes the pairing does well to balance the film as a whole. An intriguing add on is Nicholas Holt as Tesla who plays the icon with eccentricity and sincerity but plays a bit like a third wheel to the leading duo. Katherine Waterston and Tuppence Middleton as the wives of Westinghouse and Edison respectively round out the core cast well but are unfortunately underused.

Great period design and some slick modern editing make for a thoroughly enjoyable and perfectly paced film that easily hits the mark of good but falls short of great.

Available to rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.