THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN

Benedict Cumberbatch     Claire Foy     Andrea Riseborough

Adeel Akhtar     Olivia Colman     Tory Jones     Taika Waititi

Based on a true story of an exceedingly eccentric man, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is about a British man living in the late nineteenth century who made a remarkable living out of his cat pictures.  The electrical part is what he feels when he is around cats—inspiration, perhaps?—which he conceptualizes as electricity.  He does talk in the beginning about patents for electrical inventions, but when he strokes a cat and talks about electricity, he senses something of importance, which he attributes to “electricity.”  Who could have predicted that his drawings would promote the habit of having cats as pets—something not done in the 1800’s in Britain.

For most of his life, Louis lives with his overbearing sister Caroline (Riseborough), four other sisters, and his mother.  He seems to have his head in the clouds most of the time—even though he becomes the family breadwinner at age 20—but is stabilized by meeting and eventually marrying his sisters’ governess Emily (Foy).  Their eccentricities fit together well, and she has an uncommon understanding of him; however, their happiness will be short-lived, but his story goes on.  He earns enough money from his drawings, and his art becoming so popular, he is able to support his family—until he discovers a significant mistake and his own mental health deteriorates.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire form an appealing and most interesting pair in telling this story.  There is clearly chemistry coming through that I presume reflects the real couple’s attraction.  Cumberbatch is excellent in portraying a befuddled character, and Foy easily slips into a supportive, bolstering role, which is just what Wain needs to ground himself.  As Wain’s sister, Riseborough’s constant yelling in reaction to threats to her control are grating, but most likely realistic.  Much more endearing is Tory Jones’ Sir William, consistently recognizing Wain’s talent and providing him with the kind of support that not only boosted his ego, but helped him (saved him at one point) financially.

The subject is one of fascination for me, so I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Louis Wain’s life, sad as it was.  The movie is illustrated by sepia-toned cinematography that one would see at the time (Cinematographer Erik Wilson and production designer Suzie Davies in their element), which reflects old photographs and art from that period.  It’s a film for those who lean toward the quirky and artistic, who can appreciate its refreshing creativity and appreciating the foresight in director Will Sharpe’s and his co-writer Simon Stephenson’s recounting of the story of a beautiful soul, showing how genius may be compromised by the practicalities and demands of life.  

None of the reviews of the film seems to appreciate the lovely conversations between Emily and Louis in their efforts to talk about and consider his life after her death.  Those scenes are ones that—while disturbing at an unconscious level for some—provide something extraordinary in the beauty of this film—and could serve as a model for those anticipating an untimely death.

 

An account of the life of a beautiful soul, appreciated by some, reviled by others, but one with a clever eye for making drawings of cats that expressed volumes.

 

Grade:  B                          By Donna R. Copeland

FIRST MAN

Ryan Gosling     Claire Foy     Jason Clarke     Kyle Chandler

Corey Stoll     Ciaran Hinds     Pablo Schreiber     Shea Whigham

     First Man is Damien Chazelle’s sharp turn away from the musical orientation of his previous hits, Whiplash and La La Land.  We do see one tender song piece near the beginning of the movie when Neil Armstrong dances nostalgically with his wife.  Thereafter, our ears are bombarded with the roars, bangs, creaks, and groans inside spacecrafts.  What he has retained in this account of NASA’s efforts to land a man on the moon before Russia in the 1960’s are intense interpersonal relationships fraught with passion, nerve-wracking episodes, and grief.  

     More than anything, the film gives an inside look at the early space endeavors, their costs in human life and money, the intense pressure all immediately involved and their families experienced, and the mixture of bonding and competitiveness that took place among the astronauts.  It presents a brilliant picture of how men work together in a competitive, high-pressure setting, which is likely to be in contrast with how women relate to one another in such an environment.  (I’m thinking specifically of the women in the film Hidden Figures, for example.) Here, there’s camaraderie, but little of the deep emotional sharing we saw in the earlier film, and much more competitiveness. 

     First Man is as well a portrait of the heroic astronaut Neil Armstrong (empathically played by Ryan Gosling), who became even more reticent after the death of his daughter, as perhaps his way of dealing with the grief.  He’s a man who doggedly pursues his goals without being deterred by setbacks, does not hesitate to use his own judgment in place of what he is told to do, and although his emotions are tightly hidden and controlled, this defense can be broken through in certain circumstances.  The latter achieved by his wife Janet (Foy) in a scene that highlights her influence, and may be an award-winning performance for the actor.

Chazelle has also retained two colleagues from his previous films, composer Justin Hurwitz and cinematographer Linus Sandgren, and brought in Christopher Nolan’s notable production designer Nathan Crowley, to create a powerful account of the subject that is both extravaganza with awesome special effects and deep emotional pulls. 

     The movie, based on James R. Hansen’s book, can be regarded as of historical value for young people and those seriously interested in U.S. space programs. It’s a serious account that is fascinating and entertaining as well.  A small downside could be the extended scenes inside the spacecraft, which are so noisy it’s hard to hear the dialog and the mechanical focus in the picture is not informative as to what is going on.  I read that in fact it is so noisy inside a spacecraft some astronauts experience hearing loss, so these scenes are not unrealistic; I just have some concern about my own hearing!

A fascinating and apparently realistic look behind the achievement of getting a man on the moon. 

Grade A-                                                By Donna R. Copeland

UNSANE

Joshua Leonard     Claire Foy     Sarah Stiles     Amy Irving     Jay Pharoah     Juno Temple     Aimee Mullins

     When I like Steven Soderbergh’s work, I really like it (Traffic; Sex, Lies, Videotape; Behind the Candelabra; Logan Lucky) and mostly I like all his work.  However…Unsafe is so far-fetched, with a script devoid of cleverness—just one horror after another—I checked out early on. 

     We’re given a brief picture of Sawyer (Foy) as a bank clerk cheekily defending her report to a client and told in voice-over about her history of warding off a stalker.  This has left her with some problems to work through, and she goes to see a counselor.  What follows gives mental health care a bad name.  I will allow that its institutions can be criticized, but I seriously doubt any facility would incarcerate someone simply for saying they’d thought about suicide (just about everyone has, at some point in their life), even for the insurance money.  At any rate, this is how the story goes in Unsane (script by relatively inexperienced Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer).

   Sawyer is put in with (mostly) insane people, one of which—Violet (Temple)—is particularly confronting and annoying; one of which—Nate (Pharoah)—befriends her and is trustworthy.  It takes time and turmoil before she can contact her mother (Irving) who vows to move heaven and earth to get Sawyer released.  But the psychiatrist (Gibson Frazier) and the administrator (Aimee Mullins) give “reasoned” excuses as to why she must remain.

     The problem is the script, which shows a cool, thoughtful bank administrator that Sawyer is lose that cool and suddenly become hysterical, attacking others physically.  Other inconsistencies in character show up later on both in Sawyer and her mother, which I won’t spell out.  Another “trick” employed in horror movies, which these filmmakers have used, is for someone you think is dead to suddenly reappear.  The sudden shift in Sawyer’s personality at the end was particularly off-putting.  Oh, so she’s a b---- after all?

     Claire Foy holds this story together with her fine acting skills.  I’m particularly impressed with her American accent after seeing her in British productions like television’s “The Crown” and “Wolf Hall.”   Joshua Leonard as David Strine is just the right amount of creepy, pulling off a professional veneer with underlying psychopathology, and Juno Temple is lovably one of the truly insane.  Amy Irving and Aimee Mullins likewise do a great job as their characters.

     Unfortunately, I found this movie so offensive in the aspersions cast on psychiatric hospitalization that it colored my viewing.  Although I know there are valid criticisms of such facilities, I would hate to see unfounded fears about them reinforced, which I think this film does.

Inconsistencies in characters and an unimaginative plot with flaws dooms Unsane (which is not even an accepted word).

Grade:  F                                                By Donna R. Copeland