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The Current War

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The Current War
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written byMichael Mitnick
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChung-hoon Chung
Edited by
  • David Trachtenberg
  • Justin Krohn
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 9, 2017 (2017-09-09) (TIFF)
  • October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04) (United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.1 million[1]

The Current War is a 2017 American historical drama film directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Michael Mitnick. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Simon Manyonda, and Tuppence Middleton, and depicts the war of the currents between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer on the film.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017. Originally to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in November 2017, the film was shelved and sold off following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations. It was eventually bought by Lantern Entertainment (the successor of TWC), who then sold the domestic distribution rights to 101 Studios. It was released in the UK on 26 July, 2019 and is scheduled to be released in the US on October 4, 2019, by 101 Studios.

Synopsis

The film presents the story of the "war of the currents" between electricity titans Thomas Edison, and partners George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla, which determined whose electrical system would power the modern world. Edison has decided on Direct Current (DC) but it is limited in range and expensive. Westinghouse sets out to prove Alternating Current (AC) can work over longer distances at significantly lower cost. Edison and Westinghouse compete to get cities across the United States to use their system. Edison suggests that AC is dangerous and engages in a publicity war, while Westinghouse stands behind the technical merits of AC. As Edison struggles to find ways to make DC more affordable, Westinghouse attempts to get the high voltage AC system to work with motors.

The competing systems come to a head as they both put forward proposals to illuminate the Chicago Worlds Fair.

Cast

Production

On May 3, 2012, it was reported that Timur Bekmambetov's company, Bazelevs, had acquired the rights to the Michael Mitnick script The Current War. Bekmambetov was set to direct.[3] On March 31, 2014, it was reported that Ben Stiller was in negotiations to direct the film.[4] As of September 24, 2015, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jake Gyllenhaal were in talks to play Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, respectively, with Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) eyed to direct the film.[5] On September 29, 2016, Michael Shannon was cast as Westinghouse,[6] and on October 4, Nicholas Hoult was cast as Nikola Tesla.[7] In November 2016, Katherine Waterston[8] and Tom Holland[9] joined the cast. The following month, Tuppence Middleton[10] and Matthew Macfadyen[11] were also cast.

Principal photography began on December 18, 2016, and took place in London and the surrounding areas,[12] as well as Rothbury, Northumberland, where Cragside House was used as a location.[13] Filming also took place at Brighton Pavilion.[14]

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released by The Weinstein Company on December 22, 2017,[15] and then rescheduled for November 24, 2017.[16] It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017.[17] It was pulled from release following the sexual abuse allegations that arose against Harvey Weinstein, then co-head of the company.[18] Weinstein said that he was involved in the re-editing of the film when it was made known that the allegations would be revealed.[19]

In October 2018, Lantern Entertainment, which acquired The Weinstein Company's assets through its bankruptcy, and 13 Films, an international distribution and finance company, struck a deal to co-distribute the film internationally.[20] In April 2019, it was announced 101 Studios had acquired distribution rights to the film for $3 million, and committed to a wide release. Director Gomez-Rejon said since the Toronto premiere he had added five additional scenes and trimmed ten minutes from the runtime.[21] It was released on July 26, 2019 in the UK.[22] It is scheduled to be released on October 4, 2019, in the US.[23]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 28% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 4.71/10.[24]. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Current War is powered by an outstanding cast and an intriguing, history-inspired story, which makes this drama's low wattage all the more shocking." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25]

David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "For all its aggressive energy, The Current War is an uninvolving bore, making it unlikely to measure up as the kind of Oscar-baity prestige entry The Weinstein Co. obviously had in mind."[26] Andrew Barker of Variety magazine wrote: "Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon face off in this flashy but unilluminating story of America's early electrical system."[27] Dan Jolin of Empire magazine wrote: "A stylish portrayal of a literal power struggle based on truly interesting historical figures and events. But it tries to take in too much in too little time, when all it needed was to centre on Edison and Westinghouse. "[28] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote: "This a watchably stylised period film, with interesting visual setpieces and faces looming up at us out of intricately contrived backgrounds." He concluded that the film "is illuminating – but perhaps not quite as much as it could have been."[29]

References

  1. ^ "The Current War (2019) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  2. ^ "Mary Stilwell Edison (1855 - 1884)". Find A Grave Memorial. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  3. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (May 3, 2012). "Black List Script 'The Current War' Bought By Timur Bekmambetov To Helm". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  4. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (March 31, 2014). "Ben Stiller Circling To Direct 'The Current War' At TWC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  5. ^ Hipes, Patrick (September 24, 2015). "Benedict Cumberbatch & Jake Gyllenhaal In Talks For 'The Current War'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  6. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (September 29, 2016). "Michael Shannon Joins Benedict Cumberbatch In TWC's 'The Current War'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  7. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 4, 2016). "Nicholas Hoult to Play Nikola Tesla in 'The Current War'". Variety. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  8. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (November 1, 2016). "Katherine Waterston Joins 'The Current War'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (November 2, 2016). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming's Tom Holland Joining 'The Current War'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Pedersen, Erik (December 14, 2016). "Tuppence Middleton Plugs Into 'The Current War'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  11. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (December 16, 2016). "Matthew Macfadyen Joins 'The Current War'; 'D.O.A. Blood River' Rounds Out Cast; Katia Winter Stars In 'Unwanted'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Perry, Spencer (December 16, 2016). "Current War Begins Filming with Benedict Cumberbatch". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  13. ^ Barbara Hodgson (2017-01-25). "Benedict Cumberbatch movie The Current War begins filming in North East". Chronicle Live. Retrieved September 8, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  14. ^ "Pavilion Gardens closed for filming of new Benedict Cumberbatch movie- with llama and zebra". February 2, 2017.
  15. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 17, 2017). "'Mary Magdalene', 'Current War' & 'Wind River' Get 2017 Release Dates From Weinstein". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Current War". Angelika Film Center. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  17. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 25, 2017). "Toronto: Jennifer Lawrence's 'Mother!,' George Clooney's 'Suburbicon' Among 2017 Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2017-10-14). "Weinstein Co. Pulls Benedict Cumberbatch Movie 'The Current War' Off Thanksgiving Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  19. ^ Lang, Brent; Maddaus, Gene; Setoodeh, Ramin (October 4, 2017). "Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Up for Bombshell New York Times, New Yorker Stories". Variety. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  20. ^ Vlessing, Etan (October 8, 2018). "Benedict Cumb.erbatch's 'The Current War' to Get International Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  21. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (April 2, 2019). "Sparked By A Martin Scorsese Contract Clause, 'The Current War' Gets Second Life & Wide Release Commitment From 101 Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  22. ^ "When is The Current War released in cinemas? Who's in the cast and what's it about?". Radio Times.
  23. ^ Vlessing, Etan (May 21, 2019). "Benedict Cumberbatch's 'The Current War' to Get Domestic Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  24. ^ "The Current War (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "The Current War reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  26. ^ David Rooney (2017-09-10). "'The Current War': Film Review | TIFF 2017". The Hollywood Reporter.
  27. ^ Barker, Andrew (10 September 2017). "Toronto Film Review: 'The Current War'". Variety magazine.
  28. ^ Dan Jolin (22 July 2019). "The Current War". Empire magazine.
  29. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (10 September 2017). "The Current War review – Benedict Cumberbatch transmits medium voltage portrait of Thomas Edison". The Guardian.
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