The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

This film focuses on the eccentric British artist Louis Wain, who became famous for his expressive and sometimes psychedelic paintings of cats. What struck me right away was how it manages to balance whimsy with a sense of melancholy, showing both the vibrant surface of Wain’s art and the complexities of his life beneath it. The movie doesn’t just tell you about Wain—it really tries to show how he saw the world, full of color, oddity, and movement.

Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a performance that feels both earnest and a bit tragic, capturing Wain’s social awkwardness and artistic brilliance. His chemistry with Claire Foy, who plays his wife Emily, is genuinely touching and forms the emotional heart of the story. I loved how their relationship was depicted—not just as a classic romance, but as a partnership full of mutual support and shared strangeness.

The cinematography is incredibly playful, using distorted lenses and saturated colors to hint at Wain’s interior world. There are moments where the visuals almost take over the narration, making you feel like you’re inside one of Wain’s paintings. It’s refreshing, though honestly sometimes the stylization feels a bit overbearing and threatens to overshadow the quieter moments.

Narratively, the movie covers a lot—sometimes at the expense of depth. There’s so much packed in: family struggles, grief, mental illness, and of course, the changing status of cats in British society (which is a surprisingly big deal here). Occasionally it feels like it’s racing from event to event; I wished it would linger more on certain phases of Wain’s life. Still, the film never loses sight of its strange sense of humor and warmth.

You would enjoy this if you’re drawn to offbeat biographies, love biopics that get a little weird stylistically, or have a soft spot for cats (honestly, the cat content is fantastic). It’s not your standard paint-by-numbers biopic—more like a beautifully messy scrapbook dedicated to a truly unique mind.