The Current War: Director’s Cut

This historical drama (first seen at film festivals two years ago) is in the Harvey Weinstein tradition of casting top talents in historical roles in hopes of attracting both audiences and awards. In this case, Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, already a famous inventor at the time of the story. Having perfected the electric lightbulb, he becomes engaged in a battle of innovation with George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) for domination in the nascent public electricity market.

It’s directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), who tries to keep the storytelling dynamic with canted cameras, extreme closeups, fragmented timelines and other cinematic tricks, but the real energy of the film comes from its remarkable true story. Viewers unfamiliar with how the country moved from gaslight to electricity in the late 19th century will be fascinated by the conniving of Edison and Westinghouse, and by the unusual events that decided the outcome.

If all this sounds less than thrilling, well, it’s no Reds. While Cumberbatch and Shannon do fine work — a final scene together is one of the movie’s most moving moments — the historical figures they’re playing remain more titanic than touching. Nevertheless, it’s a hell of a story, told with top production values (fine, detailed sets and costumes), an engaging cast, luminous cinematography and lots of scenes in fancy railway cars and lavish hotels. It looks great on a big screen, but it will serve viewers just as well on a big TV.