Monday, May 17, 2021

Movie review: Tesla

A biography following the struggles of visionary inventor Nikola Tesla. From his battles with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan, to his incredible breakthroughs around wireless power transmission.

Ethan Hawke (Tesla), Eve Hewson (Anne), Kyle MacLachlan (Edison), Dan Bittner (Ott), Karl Geary (Upton), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Szigeti), Jim Gaffigan (Westinghouse), Donnie Keshawarz (J.P. Morgan), Tallulah Silovsky (Young Anne).

Tesla begins with a small bit of backstory via narration by Anne, before smoothly shifting to important points in his history. While the film does expose Tesla's struggles marketing his inventions and convincing others of their benefit, it adds little to the story of Tesla's life in general. The story also takes some strange detours, focusing on conversations that never happened and a very weird karaoke break mid-film. The result is a story that feels incoherent and almost rambling at times.

Acting was interesting with Hawke delivering an appropriately quirky performance. Hewson was solid with nice delivery and fit. MacLachlan brought an unusual bit of depth, as did Gaffigan. The remainder of the supporting cast was decent.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds seem fitting and fairly solid with good detail. Effects and action are managed well without trying to take-over the film. Dialogue was okay but could have had more depth and better fit. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall Tesla is a mix of interesting facts about Tesla sprinkled with a shifting storytelling perspective and unusual detours that make little sense. Those who enjoy unique films or biographies should enjoy this one.

With some mild violence, this one is fine for teens and above.

Released: 2020
Reviewed: 4.29.21
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Biography, History, Drama

copyright ©2021 Dave Riedel

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Mine mine mine!!!!

Blog disclaimer and copyright information. . .

-I hope to make this blog revenue generating in the future and as such any posts found here may be paid posts. If you want to pay me to post for you, let me know!
-Content may change over time resulting in inaccuracies. I also make mistakes, some will be here.
-I have no control over what is at the other end of any links you may find here.
-Film pictures, dvd covers, film banners or whatever you like to call them are copied here from widely available public locations. I did not create them nor do I own them.
-Any files, programs or downloadables are provided only for convenience and fun. I in no way warrant, represent, or otherwise imply they won’t cause you problems. Use at your own risk! If your computer blows up I don’t want to even hear about it.
-Reviews posted here are my opinion and meant as informational for prospective viewers and are not meant to malign, defame, or otherwise harm anyone or anything. They also are not meant as advice or counsel , not necessarily factual or absolute, and the author will not be held responsible for the results of their use.
-Comments are NOT the opinion of this author, nor is he responsible or liable for the comments or their results. I will try to moderate them in a reasonable (to me) manner.
-Translation of any portion of this blog may result in other than desirable language for which the author is not responsible. Furthermore, I’m not an English major so there will be bad grammar and punctuation found here. There may also be language that is intentionally objectionable to support my opinions. Tough.
-Copyright: All reviews and opinions expressed here by the author are owned by the author. Please enjoy reposting and/or linking, I ask only that you give proper credit and inform me you have used my content for your own pleasure and devious purposes.
-Legal limit on damages: .02 cents, U.S. (Yes, I will give you my 2 cents worth if you abuse me in court).