Tesla (C or 2/4 stars)
'Tesla' (written/directed by Michael Almereyda) may have chronicled the life of inventor Nikola Tesla ... but he sure didn't do it in a straightforward, by-the-numbers biopic way. By employing a collage-like storytelling approach & incorporating cinematic flourishes {some work better than others}, Almereyda goes to show that we won't be witnessing some live-action Wikipedia entry on film. The director also wants to show us that Tesla was not just the eccentric person that history suggests. Instead, Ethan Hawke crafts a man who obsessions make him quite the heartbreaking figure.
The plot occurs btwn. the years 1884 (when Tesla emigrated to the U.S. & started working for legendary Thomas Edison)-1905 (when his big Wardenclyffe Tower project - financed by investor J.P. Morgan - collapsed). Because the director is more interested in Tesla as a person rather than the inventor, he focuses on partially-fictionalized interactions with 4 real-life people: Edison (Kyle MacLachlan), George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan), J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz) & French actress Sarah Bernhardt (Rebecca Dayan). The film is narrated by Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), J.P.'s daughter.
She is a minor character who makes occasional appearances, but narrates from the future {yep, you read that correctly}, explaining that Tesla remains popular in the 21st century. The film also offers fanciful scenes such as Tesla & Edison dueling with ice cream cones; and in another scene, they reconcile at the Chicago World's Fair. Anne lets us know, though: "This is pretty surely not how it happened". Most bizarre of all is a scene that occurs near the end when Tesla grabs a microphone & sings the Tears for Fears 1980s anthem, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". All of this either works for you, or it doesn't. For me, it often didn't.
Sure, the film contains admirable craft; whether it's some stellar cinematography, period production design/costumes, decent music score, etc. And Ethan Hawke does the best he can to impart a new 'take' on Tesla. He creates a befuddled man uncomfortable in his own skin. He was so smart - brimming with ideas & inventions - that his interactions with human beings suffer greatly. Kyle MacLachlan impresses as Edison, a man who is more confident in his electrical current techniques than Tesla. Jim Gaffigan provides an enthusiastic Westinghouse -- too bad he wasn't in the film more so, because Tesla's genius + Westinghouse's business genius could've provided a more intriguing storyline, really. So yeah, everyone in the cast is fine.
But on the whole, despite the unconventional way to tell this story, 'Tesla' does little to broaden our knowledge about the man or his work. Despite the director & Hawke's best intentions, I found Tesla as nebulous as ever. I wasn't as compelled by this film as I thought I'd be. The filmmakers still haven't found a way to crack Tesla for me; though, I always enjoy David Bowie's offering in 2006's The Prestige. In the end, a lot of director Almereyda's flights of fancy come across as gimmicky, whimsical self-indulgences more than creating something that will give new complexion to its subject.
The plot occurs btwn. the years 1884 (when Tesla emigrated to the U.S. & started working for legendary Thomas Edison)-1905 (when his big Wardenclyffe Tower project - financed by investor J.P. Morgan - collapsed). Because the director is more interested in Tesla as a person rather than the inventor, he focuses on partially-fictionalized interactions with 4 real-life people: Edison (Kyle MacLachlan), George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan), J.P. Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz) & French actress Sarah Bernhardt (Rebecca Dayan). The film is narrated by Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), J.P.'s daughter.
She is a minor character who makes occasional appearances, but narrates from the future {yep, you read that correctly}, explaining that Tesla remains popular in the 21st century. The film also offers fanciful scenes such as Tesla & Edison dueling with ice cream cones; and in another scene, they reconcile at the Chicago World's Fair. Anne lets us know, though: "This is pretty surely not how it happened". Most bizarre of all is a scene that occurs near the end when Tesla grabs a microphone & sings the Tears for Fears 1980s anthem, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". All of this either works for you, or it doesn't. For me, it often didn't.
Sure, the film contains admirable craft; whether it's some stellar cinematography, period production design/costumes, decent music score, etc. And Ethan Hawke does the best he can to impart a new 'take' on Tesla. He creates a befuddled man uncomfortable in his own skin. He was so smart - brimming with ideas & inventions - that his interactions with human beings suffer greatly. Kyle MacLachlan impresses as Edison, a man who is more confident in his electrical current techniques than Tesla. Jim Gaffigan provides an enthusiastic Westinghouse -- too bad he wasn't in the film more so, because Tesla's genius + Westinghouse's business genius could've provided a more intriguing storyline, really. So yeah, everyone in the cast is fine.
But on the whole, despite the unconventional way to tell this story, 'Tesla' does little to broaden our knowledge about the man or his work. Despite the director & Hawke's best intentions, I found Tesla as nebulous as ever. I wasn't as compelled by this film as I thought I'd be. The filmmakers still haven't found a way to crack Tesla for me; though, I always enjoy David Bowie's offering in 2006's The Prestige. In the end, a lot of director Almereyda's flights of fancy come across as gimmicky, whimsical self-indulgences more than creating something that will give new complexion to its subject.