The Current War: Director’s Cut
Year: 2017
Rating: PG-13
Length: 102 minutes / 1.70 hours
I’ve known for some time about the “war” between alternating and direct current. It was such an interesting battle of egos between some famous names that are still known today. Heck, I even included elements of it as a sub-plot in my second book. Of course, I always thought the conflict was between Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) and Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and not being mainly between Edison and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). At any rate, I found The Current War (2017) to be an entertaining examination of the events that led the world to finally accept one of these currents as the de-facto way to distribute electric power.
Stepping back for a moment to the presentation of this movie, I appreciated the cinematography and the driving music that helped ratchet up the tension between these famous engineers and entrepreneurs. Additionally, the actors chosen to play their respective roles fit quite well. I also appreciated how the women in the lives of these men also played into the narrative. Overall, I found the movie to be a solid piece of cinema, and not just because I also appreciated its subject matter. I’m just glad that it finally was released to theaters so I could see it.
What also draws me into this movie is the timeframe in history where it sits. It’s incredible to think that it only took approximately 30 years to go from no electric light to having it accessible across the United States. The amount of technological advancement that happened at the end of the 19th century is so astonishing when you stop and really think about it. These 30-year spans seem to come in cycles, and I’m curious if 2020 is the end of the advancement of the internet era or if it will be the start of the next, bigger technological war.
An excellently filmed adaptation of one of my favorite scientific achievements, I give The Current War 5.0 stars out of 5.
