REVIEWS

A biopic that’s unlike any you’ve seen before

Certificate: 12 Director: Michael Almereyda Cast: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Hannah Gross, Eve Hewson Released: Out now

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was an unusual man, so it’s fitting that this biopic is equally unusual. Compared to other inventors such as rival and former boss Thomas Edison (played brilliantly by Kyle MacLachlan) the Serbian-American visionary has fascinated a raft of artists, filmmakers and writers. He is the ultimate ‘mad scientist’ figure and somewhat of a rock star of the Victorian and early 20th century (perhaps that’s why David Bowie was cast as Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige). If you’ve heard the name today, it’s likely because of the electric car manufacturer named in his honour.

Born in a village in Serbia, like many Tesla ventured to America with nothing in his pockets and big dreams. Director Michael Almereyda’s film is both a quirky history lesson and a saturnine character study of a man who went from digging ditches to helping to create the modern world. Played by Ethan Hawke, Tesla is a