Film

The Current War

Name: The Current War
Genre: Drama, History
Released: 2018
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland

Period drama

A handsomely mounted drama about the race to harness electricity, pitting Edison's direct current against Westinghouse's alternating current in a battle for American power. Cumberbatch, Shannon, and Hoult anchor a film that's more interested in ego and ambition than technical detail. Impressive production design compensates for a slightly by-the-numbers narrative.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy handsomely staged business history where rival personalities clash over money, patents and public opinion, and you like a boardroom fight as much as a lab bench.

Skip it if you want a tight, fast thriller; this one lingers on negotiations, lobbying and courtroom-style sparring, and its drama is more talk than spectacle.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk hour and three quarters, keeps a steady, measured pace, and wants you to follow a web of backers, rivals and technical arguments without much rest.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Man Who Invented Christmas2017

Another ensemble period drama about artistic obsession and ego, with a stellar cast delivering warmth beneath the period trappings. It's lighter in tone but shares the same pleasure in human flaws driving historical events.

But The whimsy borders on treacly sometimes, and the emotional payoff relies on sentiment rather than genuine conflict resolution.

Hidden Figures2016

Similarly structured around American historical achievement, but with greater emotional depth and a sharper political spine. The ensemble cast chemistry feels less staged, and the stakes feel genuinely personal.

But It's a more earnest film overall. If you're watching for elaborate sets and star-power posturing, this one rewards substance over spectacle.

The Imitation Game2014

Cumberbatch again in a period drama about genius obsessives reshaping technology and history. Tighter plotting and stronger emotional core, with real tension between professional ambition and personal consequence.

But It occasionally simplifies its real-life subject for narrative convenience, and the film can feel overly fond of its protagonist's brilliance despite his flaws.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Current War

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Sherlock2010

Cumberbatch channeling pure intellectual ego, surrounded by people he considers inferior, unable to connect emotionally even as his brilliance reshapes the world around him. Edison and Sherlock are the same portrait of genius as pathology.

Cumberbatch in a completely different mode: cerebral, arrogant, socially inept, solving contemporary puzzles. If you love his screen presence and want to see his range, this is essential. The early seasons especially are crackling.

But It overstays its welcome badly—the later seasons lose the tight focus that made it brilliant. The fan community can be exhausting. And some people find Sherlock's personality actively unpleasant rather than charismatic.

The Founder2016

A similarly structured drama about entrepreneurial hunger and ruthlessness, with Michael Keaton in a magnetic lead role. It's sharper about capitalism's moral costs than The Current War allows itself to be.

But The tonal shifts between satire and earnestness are sometimes jarring, and it can feel like it's punching down at its subject rather than truly understanding him.

Silk2007

A gorgeous, understated period drama about ambition and desire set against the backdrop of technological change and business competition. Takes its time and trusts the audience completely.

But Glacially paced. If you want plot momentum and dramatic confrontations, this meditative approach will test your patience.

The Laundromat2019

Soderbergh's investigation into global financial corruption has similar energy around powerful men wrestling for advantage, though this one's far messier and more experimental in form.

But It's deliberately fractured and sometimes incoherent. The experimental structure that energizes some viewers actively frustrates others.

The Banker2020

Period drama about African American entrepreneurs circumventing systemic racism to break into high finance. Strong ensemble work and a sharper edge to its examination of power and prejudice.

But Generous to its protagonists in ways that gloss over their own moral compromises. The film wants you to root for them without complicating that investment much.

The Right Stuff1983

Sprawling historical drama about American ambition and achievement, told with real humor and humanity. Captures that same sense of competing egos all desperate to make their mark.

But Nearly four hours long and episodic in structure. It's magnificent but demands commitment and patience from viewers.

King of the Rocket Men1949

A lean, efficient period drama about American industrial competition and the space race. Well-crafted and clear-eyed about ambition's costs without being preachy.

But It's competent rather than revelatory, hitting the beats you expect without surprising you or going particularly deep.

The Wizard of Lies2017

Both examine how ruthless ambition destroys not just opponents but everyone close to them. Where Current War romanticizes the titans, Wizard of Lies shows the actual human wreckage that competition leaves behind.

Miniseries about Madoff's fraud and his family's dissolution. Sober, unyielding examination of corruption and the cost of complicity. DiCaprio's restrained performance is a masterclass in how much damage one person's ambition can do.

But Relentlessly grim and deliberately slow. There are no moments of levity, and the film makes no attempt to make its subject sympathetic. It's hard watching.

Tesla2020

Where Current War treats Tesla as supporting character in other men's stories, this puts him at the center as a tragic visionary. It's the same era and people, but told from the perspective of the loser—and it suggests the 'loser' had better ideas all along.

Kyle MacLachlan as Westinghouse's overlooked competitor, a fever dream of a film that follows Tesla's fractured mind and obsessive genius. Surreal, experimental, beautiful. Shot largely in monochrome. Completely original.

But It's aggressively unconventional and doesn't follow any traditional narrative logic. Some find it pretentious or impenetrable. It prioritizes mood and visual poetry over clarity.