Tesla (2020)
Directed by Michael Almereyda
The story of the Promethean struggles of Nikola Tesla, as he attempts to transcend entrenched technology—including his own previous work—by pioneering a system of wireless energy that would change the world.
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6 films that influenced Tesla
What critics say influenced Tesla
He earned a brief appearance in Tomorrowland and a longer one in The Prestige , both notable for their conflation of science and magic.
Hawke is more than up to the task here, and he strikes a comfortable middle ground between the popular perception of Tesla as alienated outcast and David Bowie’s portrayal of the genius in The Prestige, a purveyor of wonders so bizarre that they might as well be magic.
I remember distinctly in The Prestige, played by none other than David Bowie, and recently in The Current War, played by Nicholas Hoult.
The movies have done their part to exploit his considerable mystique without necessarily drawing him in from the sidelines: David Bowie played him as the drollest of enigmas in “The Prestige” (2006), and Nicholas Hoult gave us a peek at Tesla the wily young upstart in the more recent “The Current War.”
In “The Prestige,” the charismatic David Bowie did for the inventor of AC current and most of what made radio possible what he did for Andy Warhol in “Basquiat” — made him other-worldly and cool.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Visuals
As filmed by Sean Price Williams, Alex Ross Perry’s longtime cinematographer, his aesthetic surroundings are often reminiscent of Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , though significantly smaller in scope — I’ve always admired Dominik’s attempt to capture the world through the imperfect and slightly warped craft of an old window, and there are often moments in Tesla where that approach feels echoed, such as a scene in which Hawke struggles with his brother’s memory while penning a letter by firelight.
Again, this will be a hit or miss aesthetic, perhaps in a similar vein as Lars von Trier ’s Dogville, a film where buildings are fully replaced with chalk marks.
The artifice isn’t in bad faith, however – fictional scenes are flagged up (“This meeting never happened,” says Morgan); the use of backdrop paintings and sparse sets evoke the archly stylised storytelling of Lars von Trier’s Dogville .
Tesla is a period piece that daringly mixes genre trappings with punk rock sensibilities, making it the most refreshing film of its kind since Sofia Coppola’s equally divisive Marie Antoinette.
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He’s slowly been pulling back the normal restrictions of American cinema, starting with his twin monster movies, Nadja & The Eternal, which experiment with different cameras, translucent plot mechanics, very current fashion and music.
Written and Directed by Michael Almereyda ("Marjorie Prime," "Cymbeline," "The Eternal").
