The Electrical Life of Louis Wain 2021
- Director: Will Sharpe
- Based on the book: no
- Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Sharon Rooney, Aimee Lou Wood, Hayley Squires, Stacy Martin, Phoebe Nicholls, Adeel Akhtar
- Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
- Benedict Cumberbatch – many, including Richard III
- Claire Foy – First Man, Breathe, The Lady in the Van, Being Human
- Andrea Riseborough – Birdman, Oblivion, Brighton Rock, Made in Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, Being Human, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Toby Jones – many.
- Sharon Rooney – Barbie, Sherlock
- Hayley Squires - I Daniel Blake
- Stacy Martin - High-Rise
- Phoebe Nicholls – Fortitude, Downton Abbey, Prime Suspect, Shackleton, The Elephant Man
- Adeel Akhtar - Victoria & Abdul, Unforgotten, The Night Manager, River, Utopia
- Why? The cast.
- Seen: 23 February 2024
Electricity, cats, inventing and drawing
very quickly are a few of Louis Wain’s (Cumberbatch) passions. He’s also quite
daft, as well as responsible for his five sisters and aging mother. His angry
sister (Riseborough) hires a governess Miss Richardson (Foy) who is clearly as
daft as Louis. They fall promptly in love.
The film is chaotic, striving to be
whimsical and charming but I find it jarring. It tries to tell a tragic story –
Louis is in fact mentally ill, possibly schizophrenic with horrifying
nightmares – but its jolly tone contradicts that.
In calms down in the second half and
becomes more genuine.
And, of course, the cats. Louis Wain is
credited, through his lovely cat drawings, with making cats acceptable, even
desirable, as pets. Thank you for that.
But it’s still a bit hysterical for my tastes.
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