Louis Wain did not have a particularly happy life, between mental problems and cruel grief. It was however crossed by intense moments of joy, of creation and, this one being intimately linked to this one, of a great love. Who was Louis Wain? Anyone who loves cats owes him a debt, having helped elevate these adorable beasts to iconic figures. Painter and illustrator, he enjoyed immense popularity at the end of the 19th century.e century with its feline frescoes published in various newspapers, which showed cats going about various human activities. Directed by Will Sharpe, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (The extraordinary life of Louis Wain) reflects on the existence of a man who deserves to be remembered.
Benedict Cumberbatch embodies the extraordinary character that was Louis Wain. We meet him in the middle of a funeral procession alongside his mother and his five sisters in the wake of their father’s death. Louis, a brilliant young man, but unable to focus his considerable intelligence on one thing at a time, starting with a stable job, will now be the sole financial support of the family.
What does not fail to remind him with force of exasperation Caroline (Andrea Riseborough), his older sister. Far from finding her annoying, we sympathize with her, because we immediately understand that had it not been for the narrow conventions of the Victorian era, Caroline would have been up for it, and much better equipped, to play the purveyor.
It was almost in spite of himself that Louis landed an illustrator job in an important daily. The point is, he’s as gifted as he is prolific, something his new boss (Toby Jones) never fails to exploit. Lean but regular, this source of income is timely since Caroline has just hired a housekeeper for the four younger girls: Miss Emily Richardson (Claire Foy).
As lit as Louis, Emily also shares with the latter a kind of blissful unconsciousness of the then fundamental notions of decorum and badness. In short, these two recognize each other, and their mutual attraction is wonderfully developed in the scenario constructed as a series of strong moments in the life of the protagonist.
Empathetic portrait
This love story between two iconoclasts unconscious of being is all the more credible as Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Doctor Strange) and Claire Foy (The Crown), both splendid, have a palpable chemistry. It was in this case from Emily that Louis learned to love cats, and it was again for her, when illness struck, that he began to paint and draw them with all the fervor with which he is capable.
Unfortunately, after the mid-term and Emily’s exit from the stage, the film gets lost a bit (like the protagonist), seeking its rhythm and giving in to a few repetitions, especially on the family front.
The staging, highly fanciful, however, remains stimulating and sought after from start to finish. Combining several often artisanal processes and using many old-fashioned techniques, optical filters and other kaleidoscopic lenses, Will Sharpe indeed offers a refined invoice, but not mannered. In a recent interview with the two stars, we evoked an improbable but successful cross between the cinema of Wes Anderson, for the type of formal eccentricity, and that of James Ivory, for the re-enactment of the time relying so much on the sense of detail. than the observation of manners.
In short, for each narrative weakness, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain in return offers an empathetic portrait rich in visual discoveries. The principal interested would surely have approved.