EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD // A FILM REVIEW OF "TESLA"

BY MATEO MORENO

It's not unusual for important historical figures like Nikola Tesla to get a biopic made of them. Hollywood has churned out plenty of biopics throughout the years. Most, however, are pretty conventional, told the same way with the same beats. Writer/Director Michael Almereyda tells his film TESLA differently (much like he did with his previous film Experimenter). Sure, everyone is in period clothing and the world around them is decidedly the late 1800's. But there are flourishes that step out of time. The narrator, Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to us. She also speaks of google and computers, while Tesla (Ethan Hawke) goes from a practical set to a backdrop of one. Characters occasionally look at modern equipment, like iPhones, there's a modern soundtrack and there's even an out of time Karaoke moment. Such flurishes might make a film feel disjointed, but instead here it freshens it, giving it a character stamp of originality that few biopics have. In other words, this ain't your Grandpa's Tesla.

The film doesn't tell all of his life, rather it begins with his working relationship with Thomas Edison (a punchy and fun Kyle MacLachlan) and goes through his triumphs and failures, skipping around when it needs to. Because of the way it's shot, it also has a dreamlike quality, like you may be remembering him through another memory. We also see moments in Tesla's life that seem extraordinary, only to be then told by our narrator that it never happened, almost as if someone else is trying to take over the narrative and she's keeping us on track. Tesla, as he grows more and more popular, loses more and more of what makes us human. To be fair, he was pretty stiff to begin with. But things like relationships (such as the attraction Anne has for him) fail to actually register - he's too busy thinking, inventing in his own head, consumed by the future and how to bring it to the present.

It isn't just romantic relationships he has a problem with. He has a problem connecting with people in general, as well as an inability to manage his own money. His friendship with Edison soon turns to rivalry and he soon searches out others to help him attain his vision. He partners with George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan) and briefly with J.P. Morgan (who happens to also be Anne's father) but ends up burning through trust and money as fast as he earns it. Hawke's portrayal is buttoned up and stiff. He makes you feel how he is uncomfortable in his own skin, in the world around him. It's a delicately nuanced performance that works, especially when set against Kyle MacLachlan's bragadocious performance or Gaffigan's excitable and jovial turn. It's not a straight forward narrative, and you may need to (like Anne suggests early on) google some important information about the inventor and his colleagues. You may even find yourself wondering, "Why" when modern flourishes first start happening. But if you simply let yourself sink into the style, into the flow of Almereyda's vision, you'll find it flow onto you like a warm summer rain. It's quite enchanting as a whole, and as fragmented and creative as the man himself.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Michael Almereyda STARRING Ethan Hawke, Eve Hewson, Kyle MacLachlan, Jim Gaffigan, Josh Hamilton, Lucy Walters, Donnie Keshawarz. Now available on Digital Cinemas.