Tesla
It’s hard what to make of Michael Almereyda’s “Tesla” by the time it has Nikola Tesla, played by Ethan Hawke, singing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” as it comes to a conclusion. There’s something to be said about not coming up with a traditional biopic for one of the most visionary men of the past few hundred years, but is that the choice you wish to go with?
The film largely follows biopic traditions of storytelling, with a third person narrator who plays a role in the movie in Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), although sometimes, it’s like she is telling it from one of the film’s sets; the main focus being a significant, historical rivalry (in this case, between Tesla and Thomas Edison, played by Kyle MacLachlan); and following the highs and lows of its subject’s life, as Tesla has sometimes where his vision of the future of electricity is recognized, and others when he is practically having to beg for money. Except for some moments where modern music is allowed to be added to the soundtrack (although admittedly, those moments don’t quite feel as out of place all the time), this is about as basic a biopic as you could expect.
I would imagine most people watching “Tesla” will, inevitably, think about David Bowie’s performance as the enigmatic inventor in Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” especially when Tesla does make his way to Colorado in the film. The few moments of Bowie’s Tesla in that film are infinitely more compelling, and seem to say more about the individual, than the entirety of this film; Nolan’s film using him as a real-world magician his main character goes to at a time of great need was a great way at bringing the competition between the two magicians into focus, and saying something about the rivalry between Tesla and Edison, in the process. Here, I cannot help but feel like Hawke’s work in the role feels underplayed; I don’t doubt that Tesla was more understated, and less prone to self-promotion, as Edison, but Hawke seems to be directed to a place where the character is flat, relying on the other characters to help bring him to life. Not exactly the way a biopic should work, I think.
I do wish I found “Tesla” the movie as interesting as its subject was in real life. There are terrific components in place for this film to be great; unfortunately, I found it to be less than the sum of its parts. It was good, but- especially with an actor like Hawke in place- it should have been much better. Almereyda’s film has a strong visual look, and good performances to go along with it, but it didn’t feel like it had much to say about its subject in the end. That was more than a little disappointing.
