Tesla

Tesla is a riveting and unconventional biographical drama featuring the life story of the enigmatic inventor, electric engineer, and futurist, Nikola Tesla. The movie debuted in 2020 and stars multi-talented Ethan Hawke as Tesla, Eve Hewson as Anne Morgan, the sharp-witted and influential daughter of financier J.P. Morgan, and Eli A. Smith as Tesla's assistant.

The movie expertly explores the mind of the genius inventor, whose ideas, ambitions, and imagination were often so far fetched that society had trouble understanding and accepting them. Tesla delves into the thrilling events of his life, shedding a fresh light on the factors that forged his character, fueled his ambitions, and impacted his personal life.

Ethan Hawke adeptly captures the idiosyncrasies of the enigmatic inventor with a nuanced and captivating performance, portraying Tesla as a man lost in his world of futuristic imaginations, yet firmly planted in the realities of his time. Tesla emerges as a man embarking on an incessant journey of seeking and systemizing the underlying electric truth of the universe despite the odds.

Eve Hewson plays the role of Anne Morgan, brilliantly portraying the relationship between the ambitious inventor and the financial heiress. She shines in the film as an independent woman of her time, offering a comprehensive view of the important role she played in the life of Tesla and his inventions. Eli A. Smith, portraying the role of Tesla's eager and loyal assistant, presents yet another compelling dimension to the narrative.

Novel in its approach to a biographical drama, the film masterfully employs modern elements to delineate a historical narrative, providing a unique subtext that parallels Tesla's life and his revolutionary innovations. The film incorporates anachronistic scenes and surreal sequences enveloped in contemporary references, providing the viewer a fresh perspective on the chronicle of the inventor’s life.

Despite unraveling in the backdrop of the 19th century, the film possesses a unique, underlying tone of modernity which aligns perfectly with Tesla's futuristic visions. The combination of precise period details with unexpected modernistic intrusions creates an intriguing juxtaposition, reflecting Tesla's extraordinary and ahead-of-his-time ideas.

The narrative is elegantly entwined with significant socio-economic and scientific developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, painting a vivid picture of the period. The fierce rivalry between Tesla and industrialist Thomas Edison is represented, highlighted by their conflicting visions about the promising potential of electricity. The film also explores the relationship between Tesla and inventor and engineer George Westinghouse, brilliantly illuminating the power dynamics of the time.

The electricity-illuminated backdrop of Chicago's World Fair and the iconic Tesla coil are other remarkable features of the film. It shows how Tesla, overcoming numerous obstacles, envisioned and worked towards harnessing the power of alternating current (AC) that transformed life as we know it.

A key aspect of "Tesla" that stands out is the creative liberty taken in fusing facts with fictional elements in Tesla's life, often seen through the lens of a magical realist narrative. These surreal and humorous depictions provide an imaginative twist to the narrative, emphasizing that Tesla was indeed a man living ahead of his time, often in a world of his own inventing.

The movie crosses traditional boundaries of a biopic, almost transforming into a meta-narrative about the art of filmmaking and storytelling itself. The narration by Anne Morgan breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience, providing them with a uniquely involving filmic experience.

In essence, Tesla is a biographical drama that, much like its subject, pushes beyond the conventional boundaries, using anachronisms, surreal sequences, and magical realist narratives to explore the tumultuous life of the genius inventor, Tesla. The film is a tribute to Tesla's vision of a world powered by electricity and serves as an inspiration to dreamers and innovators everywhere.

The film presents a compelling, yet non-traditional biography of a man well-ahead of his time. It invokes a modern perspective on a historical story, engaging viewers with its balance of surrealism and realism, and stands as a testament to the undying spirit of the genius, who challenged the norms of the society he lived in to envision a future no one else could see.