Tesla

Tesla is a biographical drama about the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, following his efforts to develop and promote a wireless energy system that he believed could transform the world. Arriving in the United States, Tesla works for Thomas Edison before their differences turn them into rivals. He later gains backing from the industrialist George Westinghouse for his work on electrical power, while pursuing a more ambitious project financed by the banker J.P. Morgan. Along the way he grows close to Morgan's daughter, Anne.

Michael Almereyda wrote, directed and produced the film, which follows Experimenter and Marjorie Prime in his filmography. Ethan Hawke plays Tesla, with Eve Hewson as Anne Morgan, Jim Gaffigan as George Westinghouse, Kyle MacLachlan as Thomas Edison and Donnie Keshawarz as J.P. Morgan. The production had a budget of 5 million US dollars.

Released in August 2020, the film runs 102 minutes. Reception has been modest: film critics gave it 6 out of 10 across 186 reviews, slightly above the 5.8 out of 10 it holds on TMDB from around 390 votes and the 5.1 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 11,000 votes. The relatively small gap between the critics' score and the audience scores suggests a broadly mixed response rather than sharply divided opinion.