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Tesla (2020 film)

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Tesla
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Almereyda
Written byMichael Almereyda
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySean Price Williams
Edited byKathryn J. Schubert
Music byJohn Paesano
Production
companies
  • Passage Pictures
  • BB Film Production
  • Campbell Grobman Films
  • Intrinsic Value Films
  • RNG Entertainment Oy
  • Millennium Media
Distributed byIFC Films
Release dates
  • January 27, 2020 (2020-01-27) (Sundance)
  • August 21, 2020 (2020-08-21) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million
Box office$386,061[2]

Tesla is a 2020 American biographical drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda. It stars Ethan Hawke as Nikola Tesla. Eve Hewson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jim Gaffigan, and Kyle MacLachlan also star.[3]

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020, and was released in selected theaters and via Premium VOD on August 21, 2020, by IFC Films.

Plot

The narrator tells how Nikola Tesla, as a small child, saw electricity when petting his cat. In 1884 New York City, adult Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke) is working for Thomas Edison (Kyle MacLachlan), who doesn't seem to regard Tesla overly highly. He is told by another coworker that perhaps it is because Edison's wife has just died. When they get into a heated work confrontation, they smash ice cream cones in each other's faces.

The narrator revealed to be Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), appears with a laptop, saying that this probably is not how this happened. She tells about how when you Google Tesla, you only find a couple of photos, and proceeds to detail more information about his past and how he had his first flash of the motor he would eventually invent. She notes when you google Edison, you get twice as many results.

The narrator continues to explain his previous troubles and financial poverty until he is finally able to pitch his idea to those who will pay him much more than Edison. The narrator tells how Edison meets his second wife Mina (Hannah Gross) in 1885. Tesla continues work on his induction motor, assisted by his friend Anthony Szigeti from Budapest (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

They reveal their spark-less motor to high praise, and Tesla eventually meets Anne, the daughter of JP Morgan (Donnie Keshawarz). Tesla presents his findings, and George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan) buys the patents for Tesla's inventions and brings Tesla to Pittsburgh to oversee production. Westinghouse updates Tesla on the rivalry between Edison's findings and Tesla's, Edison insists on his for the matters of execution. Edison says direct current is better and dismisses Tesla's alternating current.

Szigeti shows Tesla an invention he has discovered, a compass, only to be told by Tesla another inventor has beaten him to it, and he leaves town to seek other fortunes. Meanwhile, William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed with electric induction – but it is completely botched and gruesome. Edison blames the doctors. Tesla begins dating Anne – despite her father being one of Edison's incredibly wealthy funders.

After the World's Fair in 1893 is powered by Westinghouse/Tesla's machines, everyone sees Tesla's alternating current as highly viable. Edison meets with Tesla and admits he was wrong and asks him to work together, insisting bygones be bygones. The narrator comes over and says the meeting never happened, and that Edison never admitted he was wrong and they never reconciled.

Westinghouse tells Tesla that Edison is sunk, but that their business is still failing, and that they need a JP Morgan-like merger. If Westinghouse pays Tesla what he is owed, he will be bankrupt. The only merger he could get requires Tesla to give up his horsepower clause, but then the entire country will be using his machines. Tesla chooses to tear up their contract to go forward with the merger.

The famous traveling actress Sarah Bernhardt (Rebecca Dayan) performs her act and everyone goes out to see her. After the performance, Tesla seems attracted to Sarah, concerning Anne. Tesla and Edison have an uncomfortable and tense run-in where Edison seems bitter and resentful of Tesla's success, and Edison leaves with Sarah's group.

After discussing Tesla's work with her father, he asks whether Tesla is seeking an investor or a wife. Shortly after, Tesla tells Anne he is planning on moving to Colorado, rather far. There, he begins work developing the Tesla coil. Its debut is impressive and unsettling, blowing up the local generator, which Tesla offers to pay for.

Tesla once again sees Sarah when her tour comes through town and the two have an attraction. Tesla then presents his discoveries to JP Morgan showing him all the advantages his machines can provide the world. He is skeptical and doesn't like Tesla very much, but invests one hundred thousand dollars into Tesla's work.

The narrator reveals Edison got out of the electricity business and goes into mining – which ends up being a complete failure that loses him four million dollars. After Tesla gives an interview saying his equipment is picking up signals that could potentially be from Mars, Anne confronts him about this idea, noting her father reads the interviews he gives.

Tesla goes to Morgan to ask for more money, who is skeptical that Tesla's research is really going anywhere. Tesla explains he is developing technology to map brain waves. Morgan, who is playing tennis with Anne, dismisses him. In a fantasy sequence, Tesla sings “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”.

The narrator Anne asks Tesla if he remembers her face when she realized it was hopeless between them. She moves to the French countryside and begins working on creating health services and camps for children. She explains that Tesla outlives Edison, Westinghouse, Bernhardt, and Morgan and dies alone at 87. She says that maybe he overreached, or maybe the world we live in is one that Tesla dreamed first.

Cast

Production

In February 2018, it was announced Ethan Hawke had joined the cast of the film, with Michael Almereyda directing from a screenplay he wrote.[4] The script was an updated form of the first feature he ever wrote, a Tesla biopic originally optioned to Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski that was never made. Almereyda "reinvented it for the present moment" adding details about Tesla that had been published since then and including changes based on other influences such as director Derek Jarman and author Henry James.[5]

Release

Tesla had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020 where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Award.[6] Shortly after, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film and released it in selected theaters and via Premium VOD on August 21, 2020.[7]

Reception

Box office and VOD

The film made $42,000 from 108 theaters in its opening weekend.[8] That same weekend the film was the second-most rented on Apple TV,[9] before finishing 10th at Apple TV and ninth on Spectrum the following weekend.[10]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Appropriately bold and ambitious, Tesla takes a number of risks that don't always pay off -- but Ethan Hawke's performance makes those flaws easier to forgive."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]

References

  1. ^ "Tesla". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "Tesla (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Tesla|Sundance Film Festival|Consequence of Sound
  4. ^ Ritman, Alex (February 12, 2018). "Ethan Hawke to Play Nikola Tesla in Biopic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 10, 2020). "'Tesla' Trailer: Ethan Hawke Plugs In To Iconic Scientist In Michael Almereyda's Biopic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Lang, Brent (April 6, 2020). "IFC Films Buys Ethan Hawke Drama 'Tesla' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (August 22, 2020). "'Unhinged' Sees Increased Business On Saturday For $4M Opening As Exhibition Turns Lights Back On". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  9. ^ The Vanished Topped New VOD Releases|IndieWire
  10. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (August 31, 2020). "'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Tops Multiple VOD Charts as Chadwick Boseman Films Soar". IndieWire. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "Tesla (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "Tesla Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
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