Summary Review, Minimal Spoilers:

The Current War: Director’s Cut is a story about the electrification of the USA. There were two types of power for people’s homes. One is Direct Current (DC) and the other is Alternating Current (AC). On the one hand, Thomas A. Edison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) was the proponent of DC, while George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) had AC, which was more cost effective. This film documents their struggles to gain acceptance, and the conflicts that arose. Interesting stuff.

It’s a rather good bit of history that’s not well known. Also involved in this story was one Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), who had an important role to play in the success of both people.

The story itself doesn’t hold back much. It portrays Edison for the person he was known to be, not the myth that most people remember. I suspect that the delay in having this movie released related mostly to criticism about this portion of the movie, but apparently, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the director, won out, and we’re seeing the movie he made. It is said that the release was delayed also because it was one of Harvey Weinstein’s last movies as the head of a studio when the scandal broke, but his alleged criminal have nothing to do with the nature of this movie.

This film was well researched and properly done. You definitely get the sense of being there, in the 1880s. It feels very authentic. Cumberbatch and Hoult give good performances, true to their characters’ actual natures, but this movie rests on the shoulders of Michael Shannon. As Westinghouse, he gives a stern and driven performance that one would hope is a fair representation of the man. You see this film from all of there perspectives, at times.

If you know the history,they do cover the involvement of animals. It is re-enacted, briefly, and fortunately not for thrills, as it were. I’m glad it is dealt with, that way, as anything more would’ve cheapened the film.

I really liked this film, and I do recommend it.