TIFF 2021: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
tiff 2021While stories of fiction can lead to profound and unique character studies, the stories of real life can be equally captivating and magical in their own unique authentic ways. Serving as his first feature solo directorial debut, Will Sharpe turns his attention to the past to capture the unique yet eccentric life of an artist named Louis Wain in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain which is screening as part of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Not just is Louis Wain (Benedict Cumberbatch) seen as particular in his personal life but he becomes infamous for his artistic pieces on cats even being credited as the reason cats are kept as housepets. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain follows his life offering a unique insight into how he viewed the world and how those around him viewed him.
What stands as particularly striking within The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is the aesthetic choices found throughout the feature. While the movie does root its identity within a period piece setting which features the strong costume design (Michael O'Connor) and production design (Suzie Davies) one would expect from the genre, the film never settles for average with highly stylized and unique takes on this more standard foundation. The cinematography from Erik Wilson is highly unique with its usage of shot composition and framing while the actual colors and filters put on these visuals are striking. These choices put the audience into the slightly off-kilter yet magical world that Louis Wain sees the world in. While it isn't incompetent, the world experience is different than that of every other character within the film to a functional yet noticeable degree. In this sense, the film is possibly giving the best experience a biopic on Louis Wain could possibly be giving as it truly feels like the audience will not just understand the facts about the man but truly empathize with him and understand him on a deeper level.
The character of Louis Wain is also brought to life rather well by Benedict Cumberbatch who feels quite natural in this role. The slightly strange yet highly intellectual and likable character of Wain fits perfectly into the filmography of Cumberbatch who has taken many roles like this which is both a positive and a negative for the feature. While this does mean that Cumberbatch is perfectly suited to play Louis Wain and his performance gives everything it needs to, it also does feel a bit forgettable and standard with nothing Cumberbatch is doing feeling all that fresh or unique for this specific feature. It is great to once again see Claire Foy on the big screen but her character also feels a bit underwritten and never feels like it plays into her talent or potential. Both Cumberbatch and Foy are strong here but never do anything to feel that memorable overall.
The screenplay by Will Sharpe and Simon Stephenson feels similar. While there is a joyous charm from the film, there never is a bite or deeper conviction that will stick with audiences outside of the closing stretch of the film's 111-minute runtime. The film is sweet but never that memorable or profound. While this doesn't ruin the film and the charm maintains strong, it does hurt the lasting impact of the feature that considering the strength of the massive list of releases coming out around it almost curses the film to ultimately get lost in the shuffle. It is hard to imagine that in even a few months many will look back at 2021 and remember the film. While again this doesn't ruin what the film is going for as it clearly isn't trying to have a stronger bite, it does fundamentally hurt the film from being called a masterpiece or anything close to it.
Largely, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain ends up feeling like an innocent and inspired biopic that will come and go without much anger or note. For those who check the film out, they will find a charming and aesthetically pleasing feature, but for those who miss the film there will be nothing here they are truly missing out on that demands a viewing. It is a good but never great film that would be a fine viewing experience for fans of the genre.
