The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Amazon Prime Video | Release Date: October 22, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
13
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDec 30, 2021
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is also disarmingly tender, blessed with a deep affectation for its subject that feels fuller and more romantic in its nature than straightforward respect. Read full review
100
Original-CinKim HughesOct 22, 2021
It’s a testament to director Will Sharpe’s vision and humanity that a story predicated on mental illness, poverty, death, and heartbreak ultimately comes across as hopeful and lovely — whimsical even — while looking gorgeous on the screen. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 28, 2021
With its exuberant images (cats, oodles of cats), quaint Victorian settings, damask palette, odd camera angles and old-fashioned screen proportions, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain might have been too clever by more than half, except for its startling tenderness and depth of feeling, and the brilliance of its starring performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 2, 2022
Like Wain’s art, the film is superficially twee – characters are referred to as “nosy poseys” at one point – but under the kitsch is something more rewarding: an affecting portrait of a creative but troubled man. Read full review
80
Time OutHanna FlintNov 29, 2021
It’s an affable biopic about a great but troubled man, with plenty of artistic spirit of its own. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekNov 8, 2021
Though there are patches that are sad to watch, it is for the most part a delight, a biopic that brings its subject to life in a way that’s both respectful and open-hearted. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 21, 2021
Louis is a funny, complicated character, and while the movie could have expanded its horizons (particularly in view of the changes roiling the art world), Cumberbatch fills in this expressionistic portrait exquisitely. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 21, 2021
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain grows bleaker as Wain’s fortunes plummet and his grasp on reality weakens by the year, but it remains a loving and respectful portrait of a man who created irresistibly adorable kitschy cats more a century before their spiritual descendants were racking up the views on YouTube. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldOct 21, 2021
Ultimately, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is made enjoyable by its human and feline actors, despite the sadness of the material, and it left me wanting to know more about its subject, which I suppose is the point. Read full review
75
Film ThreatAlan NgSep 23, 2021
There’s much to like about The Electrical Life of Louis Wain — the Victorian setting, cats, Cumberbatch, and its visually stunning cinematography. But it may not be enough to spark enough life into a movie-going audience that wants something new. Read full review
75
The Film StageMichael FrankSep 17, 2021
At a minimum, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain stirs up appreciation for these tiny feline creatures that have gone from the streets to staining the carpets. Out of unusual direction and honest portrayals emerges something much greater. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorSep 10, 2021
Cumberbatch excels once again at breathing life into a sorrowful genius. Read full review
70
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiSep 16, 2021
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is so utterly charming and buoyant that it makes even the frustrating aspects of the film forgivable. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 13, 2021
Whether one considers said work to be worthy of a feature-length movie is almost entirely beside the point, since Stephenson and Sharpe have unearthed so much else that’s engaging about Wain’s story. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberSep 13, 2021
Cumberbatch and Foy play beautifully together; the chemistry is palpable, and both performers know how to charm audiences without overselling the romance. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 4, 2021
Wain's psychosis is shown from the inside, the Victoriana giving way to psychotronic visions that re-create Wain's futurism and dalliances with Cubism. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 20, 2021
The more Electrical Life conforms to what one would expect of a Louis Wain biography, the less idiosyncratically compelling it becomes. An entirely fictional story loosely inspired by the man and his wife, but beholden to nothing, might have been genuinely electrifying. Read full review
65
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSep 13, 2021
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is often quite charming and sweet. But there's an undercurrent of sadness running through the entire affair, and even when the film tries to convince us that there were good times among the bad, it's hard not to think how awful life must have been for several characters here. Read full review
65
TheWrapMonica CastilloSep 13, 2021
As tragic biopics go, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain isn’t interested in wallowing in misery. Instead, this amusing retelling of Wain’s life is a way to introduce his quirky illustrations to a new generation, putting them in a new light that’s more in line with the irreverent and animated creatures Wain once imagined years ago. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comNell MinowOct 22, 2021
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain has the same problem as its real-life subject, in that it goes off in too many directions at once. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 20, 2021
I could easily list a half-dozen movies about famous artists/authors that fall into the same general category as this one. Excepting Cumberbatch’s performance and the strong visual sense, there’s not a lot to separate this from any of them. Read full review
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