The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
The extraordinary true story of eccentric British artist Louis Wain, whose playful, sometimes even psychedelic pictures helped to transform the public's perception of cats forever.
- Released: 2021-10-22
- Runtime: 111 minutes
- Genre: Drama, History
- Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones, Stacy Martin, Sharon Rooney, Hayley Squires, Aimee Lou Wood, Adeel Akhtar, Julian Barratt, Asim Chaudhry, Indica Watson, Sophia Di Martino, Taika Waititi, Olivia Colman, Nick Cave, Jamie Demetriou, Crystal Clarke
- Director: Will Sharpe
Comments
- anokmovie - 13 January 2024
The life of Louis
A brilliant portrayal of the life and death of the legendary English artist Louis Wain. Incredible performance by Benedict Cumberbatch as Louis - effortlessly capturing a man with a vision trying to express himself in spite of his own constant personal struggles. Direction and visuals seem almost ethereal and range from sweeping landscapes symbolizing the freedom of creativity to cramped, bustling alleys, symbolizing the competition of the period and Louis Wain's inability to keep up. Effects are well executed and the story is tied together in a way that makes sense and is easily digestible, with a soundtrack that moves the viewer as if they are right there experiencing Louis Wain's highs and lows as an artist. A must watch for any period art enthusiast or any creative person who has ever struggled with mental illness. - mrs_microphone - 1 April 2023
Heartening
Such a moving story about the gentle genius of Louis Wane.
As a boy, my fancy trembled in the balance between music, painting, authorship and chemistry. I might in one sense say that I have had an art training, for I never contemplated being anything but an artist in one form or another.
Music became an all-encompassing passion for Louis at this time. 'Contact with musical people determined me to devote my future career to music, and easy going masters carried me through a lot of work; and my circumstances allowed me scope to compose a great deal, including an opera made up entirely of choruses, quartettes and duets.' He would continue to bring up the subject of his opera in press interviews later in life, even claiming at one time that he had submitted it to the famous conductor Henry Wood, though no trace of any musical composition has ever been found. - indy-39 - 6 September 2022
Finally, Terry Gilliam's Hallmark Film
Wow, is this bad. I'm a cat lover so I do have to say- the cats were good, the live ones. The film was bad until the last twenty minutes when it degenerated into awful. Cumberbatch overacts so much I just figured he must have directed this himself- no one else, I thought, would have allowed him to go this far. The story purports to be true- I'm sure that Louis Wain existed and drew amazing pictures of cats- but obviously has moments of out and out balderdash. And it's cloying, insufferable balderdash. The only way it could have been worse is if it turned out Olivia Colman's (Yes that Olivia Colman) narration was being delivered by Wain's cat. Originally I wanted to give this four stars but the waste of talent merits deducting one star. - natalietoi - 16 June 2022
Bored stiff
Despite all the glowing reviews I was underwhelmed and bored by the movie. I fast forwarded several sections. I found all characters just that - characters, and the two headliners particularly irritating. Not the movie for me. - carleckhardt - 26 March 2022
Bravo to the writers, directors, and all staff
For me, personally, this touched me beyond words. A love story the reinvented itself after the loss of his soul mate, into noticing cats in a way that needed to be enumerated and articulated in a visual way. Louis Wain is a hero to me, and the cast helped me put him on my list. Thank you so much for the fine work you did so I could believe the vision and account of this great man's life.
