Louis Wain’s Drinking Game
Down a Shot: every time a tragedy unfolds in the life of Louis Wain.
Down a Shot: every time a cat or a painting of a cat shows up onscreen.
Down a Shot: for every celeb cameo or British comedian sighting.
By: Vidal D’costa (Three Beers) –
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is a tragedy wrapped within a tragedy that explores the tempestuous and troubled life of Louis Wain, a whimsical artist who is intent on finding beauty in the world and on harvesting a ‘positive electricity’ which only he is privy to, but instead only encounters heartbreak, grief, and negativity. I might be overly simplifying it here, but think of him as Van Gogh, but if Van Gogh had a crippling obsession with drawing kitty cats. Wain’s pursuit of positivity begins to take a toll on his mental health and while his connection to cats and his lifelong dedication to his art is initially his claim to fame, it might also turn out to be the very aspect of his life that consumes him and proves to be his undoing.
A Toast
The first half is, simply put, a celebration of the eccentricity of certain characters which, as an eccentric reclusive loser, I quite enjoyed seeing depicted onscreen. The contrast between the normies and the odd non-conforming characters such as Louis Wain is made clear to viewers from the very start in scenes such as Wain’s demanding and shrill sister warning Emily, the quirky rock-hoarding governess shacking up with them, against sharing a floor with her multi-talented ‘drip’ of a brother.
The second half is more of a serious examination of the overwhelming responsibilities that arise with being a figure in the limelight, from coping with one’s mental health and the stress of it all to the legal battles that erupt when it comes to protecting one’s work, name, and reputation. It also explores the protagonist’s inner conflict and turmoil as he tries to hang on to his sanity in the face of tragedy.
While the movie is supposedly cheery and light-hearted on the surface and it is certainly beautiful to look at with its charming and scenic picturization and warm colour schemes, mainly calming blue, teal, and autumnal colours that are easy on the eyes (some scenes in particular even look like they came straight out of a painting, so kudos to the set design, art direction, and cinematographer for that), it doesn’t shy away from touching upon topics regarded as taboo such as menstruation and even heartbreaking and disturbing topics such as grief, the toll of mental illness, and the inevitability of death.
Benedict Cumberbatch puts forth a convincing performance as Louis Wain and excels in the scenes that require him to portray his character’s gradually declining and fragile mental health, and the scenes wherein Wain undergoes several mental breakdowns truly highlight the actor’s bankability. Claire Foy has a short-lived role as Wain’s wife Emily, but her presence is nothing short of breath-taking and her chemistry with Cumberbatch made me wanting more of the couple, be it them doting over a stray kitten like a pair of cat-moms or them feeding off each other’s manic pixie energy and sharing a mutual love for being rebellious reclusive losers who are treated as misfits in etiquette-obsessed Victorian England. I mean there was so much to say, so much to tell… Maybe a miniseries about their relationship would’ve been more befitting to both Mr. and Mrs. Wain.
Beer Two
While Olivia Colman has a soothing voice and I would definitely let her narrate my life story some day, I feel that her voiceover here is overwhelming and often unnecessary, through no fault of her own since the storytelling left much to be desired. I felt that the writers could have relied more on the ‘show, don’t tell’ approach, which would have helped tighten the pace a bit while also allowing viewers to truly feel for the characters.
Also I won’t lie to you, I felt that lines such as ‘A strange tingly feeling crackled and sparkled through his loins’ just sounded unintentionally corny to me even in Colman’s voice, even though I’m assuming it was meant to convey a sense of romance.
I also would have very much liked to have seen Benedict Cumberbatch battle it out with a CGI bull at a country fair or even throw peanuts at a CGI bull at a country fair instead of being talked through the event without it actually being depicted. That in itself could have added a lot more whimsy to a particularly drab and dragging first half, even if it did sound like a cock and bull story.
Beer Three
The cameos by Richard Ayoade and Taika Waititi are also rather underwhelming since their characters don’t add much of value to the proceedings other than just existing to add a bit of star value. In fact, much of the supporting cast don’t have much to do, despite boasting of such talents as Toby Jones as Wain’s first employer and I found it disheartening that the writers didn’t delve more into this character’s backstory or even attempt to bridge the gap between what made him such a withdrawn man himself and an almost carbon copy version of Wain’s persona. He is only hinted to have encountered tragedy akin to Wain’s own, but his character could have garnered more sympathy from me if there had been more layers to him.
It was also a strange sight to behold watching Ayoade play one of the normies for once instead of one of the odd eccentric ones, not that he looked out of element or anything of the sort in the role, but it was probably the most alarming feature of this movie for me!
Verdict
If you like movies which are reminiscent of Life of Pi, in a way that they make you wonder whether you’re watching a serious biopic unfolding or whether you’ve just witnessed someone’s fever dream and which make you ponder over the fragility of life, then The Electrical Life of Louis Wain may just be what you’re looking for.
