Post by sgev1977 on Sept 13, 2021 0:40:19 GMT
Louis Wain was very real, though, and here he's played by Benedict Cumberbatch, in sharp contrast to his cruel and career-best turn in his other TIFF movie this year, "The Power of the Dog." Watching these two movies together is a true testament to Cumberbatch's craft, because as scary and threatening as he is in "Power of the Dog," he's incredibly warm and affable here. Of course, this kind of stammering, clumsy, awkward, likable chap is the type of part Cumberbatch can probably play in his sleep at this point.
The script, by Simon Stephenson and Will Sharpe, would like us to think that because Louis Wain touched so many lives with his art, his life was a triumph. But as popular as those cat drawings may have been, the real Louis Wain grew destitute and alone. Those close to him died – including his own pet cats. He faded into obscurity, forgotten by a world he brought such beauty to. And no matter how many scenes "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain" gives us of Cumberbatch dancing, or looking at a beautiful landscape, the sadness threatens to swallow all that up.
That's not to say "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain" is a slog. As a director, Sharpe casts the entire film in a hazy glow, recalling lamplight. And there are fantasy-infused sequences of true beauty, coupled with Arthur Sharpe's lovely-yet-sorrowful score. But I can't shake the notion that the movie, despite its frequently sad tone, thinks this story is a lot more uplifting than it actually is. As the narrator tells us, Louis Wain's life was one of constant striving and searching. He believed that his theories of electricity – and cats – held "the key to all of life's most profound and alarming secrets." And did he ever use that key to unlock those secrets? Probably not in real life. But hey, when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
That's not to say "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain" is a slog. As a director, Sharpe casts the entire film in a hazy glow, recalling lamplight. And there are fantasy-infused sequences of true beauty, coupled with Arthur Sharpe's lovely-yet-sorrowful score. But I can't shake the notion that the movie, despite its frequently sad tone, thinks this story is a lot more uplifting than it actually is. As the narrator tells us, Louis Wain's life was one of constant striving and searching. He believed that his theories of electricity – and cats – held "the key to all of life's most profound and alarming secrets." And did he ever use that key to unlock those secrets? Probably not in real life. But hey, when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
www.slashfilm.com/601779/the-electrical-life-of-louis-wain-review-benedict-cumberbatch-paints-cats-in-this-surprisingly-melancholy-biopic-tiff-2021/?utm_campaign=clip