Recently, I heard that if you ever see a big name in a small film, it is very possibly attributable to family, not career. That is likely the case here. While Dr. Strange here could be in pretty much any Disney movie he desired, today Benedict Cumberbatch opted for the biopic of eccentric, obscure, possibly demented English cartoonist, Louis Wain. Obsessed with electricity and self-perceived “electrical fields,” Louis may well have been a scientist (fascination with a subject does not by itself make one an expert in that subject; all you have to do is listen to sports radio for ten minutes to know that), but what he became was the most notable cat artist of the era … which, I suppose is better than NOT being the most notable cat artist of the era, but not by much.
Like Benedict Cumberbatch himself, Louis Wain seemed an anomaly, someone out-of-place. Perhaps that’s what attracted Cumberbatch to the role. Eldest and only boy in a large family, Louis Wain found himself having to provide for all of his siblings as they could not either legally or willingly provide for themselves. This Wain manor existed in 1890s London and the well-to-do women expected never to have nor need jobs in their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the latter became untrue when Louis proved exceptionally bad with money. This lack of economic acumen was compounded by Louis’ constantly distracted personality; Cumberbatch played the man as if no matter what else was going on around him, he seemed concerned with whether or not he’d left the oven on.
While Louis was bad at money and being present in the moment, he excelled at was art. He could accurately recreate scenes with photographic-like detail in seconds with ambidextrous scribbling. While his scientific 
knowledge was only good enough to draw blank stares, his art was good enough to land a high-profile-but-crappy-paying job at the Illustrated London News, where he was constantly taken advantage of by his “friend,” Sir William Ingram (Toby Jones).
In the mean time, Wain manor hired a governess for the siblings of Louis. I’m not kidding here, Benedict Cumberbatch, currently 45, is playing a character with pre-pubescent siblings. Don’t even ask. And Louis falls for the governess, Emily (Claire Foy).
The Electric Life of Louis Wain is really two films. One works and one doesn’t. And it’s surprising as to which one works. The first half is a romance between a social doormat and a woman who is supposed to be his inferior. I found this story charming and occasionally fun. In the second half, Louis becomes obsessed with cats. This is to be his signature contribution to the world, but it was coated in depression and mental instability. When he visits NYC late in the film, it should be an ideal time to make a “Wain Manor” joke, and yet the film is a complete downer when it gets there. If this guy had just Benjamin Buttoned, maybe you’d have something, but as is, this biopic Louis Wanes considerably. I enjoyed it more-or-less for a little under an hour and found nothing to enjoy afterwards … and there ain’t much else to recommend this period piece.
Not sure Louis Wain was all that
His manner should have aligned with the bat
He was quite the square
And he wasn’t all there
But that man certainly knew how to draw a cat
Rated PG-13, 111 Minutes
Director: Will Sharpe
Writer: Simon Stephenson, Will Sharpe
Genre: Biographies that seem promising for about an hour or so
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Cat Daddies
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Fat dandies
