The history drama "Edison – A Life Full of Light" tells of the electrifying competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.
The historical drama "Edison – A Life Full of Light" (German theatrical release: July 23) by director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (47, "American Horror Story") is about the competition between the US inventor and self-marketing specialist Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) and his adversary, the US inventor and industrialist George Westinghouse (1846-1914).
While Edison chose Alternating Current (AC), Westinghouse worked with Direct Current (DC). The original title of the film also alludes to this: "The Current War". The film celebrated its world premiere in 2017 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival. In the United Kingdom, however, it only came to the cinemas at the end of July 2019 and in the United States at the beginning of October 2019. The Weinstein scandal is responsible for the postponement because the film is being distributed by "The Weinstein Company" (TWC).
The plot of the film
America shortly before the beginning of the 20th century: Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch), one of the most brilliant inventors of all time, is on the brink of illuminating an entire street in Manhattan with electric light for the first time, thereby changing the world forever. The breakthrough makes him a star overnight. Edison works tirelessly to expand his invention across the country. Torn between his feverish job and his beloved wife Mary (Tuppence Middleton) and the two children, Edison is also increasingly getting into an inner conflict.
And that's not the only challenge. His fiercest competitor, the wealthy entrepreneur George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), encouraged by his ambitious wife Marguerite (Katherine Waterston), hires the unknown young inventor Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) to win the race for America's power supply. As the city of Westinghouse falls into the AC system, Edison is under increasing pressure to defend his invention while remaining true to his moral ideals …
Surprising prominent cast
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch (44, "The Imitation Game – A Top Secret Life") embodies said US inventor Edison as usual. British fans will still be surprised. Because he is played on the wall by US actor Michael Shannon (45, "Knives Out – Murder is a Family Matter") as Westinghouse. In fact, even though the screenplay makes the latter much paler.
Something similar can be said about the British actor Nicholas Hoult (30, "About a Boy"): His portrayal of the rather tragic figure of the Serbian-born inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) also inspires googling. In contrast, Tom Hollands (24) role of Edison assistant Samuel Insull (1859-1938) is again rather inconspicuous.
Conclusion
Anyone who only knew the name from Thomas Edison will probably be amazed at what this great inventor (more than 1,000 patents) has done. The film should also be interesting for all those who are generally enthusiastic about electricity, electricity and use.
Fans of classic biopics, on the other hand, don't quite get their money's worth. Because – apart from a few fabulously made light and lighting sequences – the darkly staged film only covers a relatively short period of time. In addition, the competition for the power supply of the USA is a bit too much in the foreground – the German title of the film is also slightly misleading in this context.