The English have never been particularly interested in biopicsbut when they have approached them, they have tried to do so from a point of view diametrically opposed to the canonical and emasculating American model, both in its narrative and aesthetic aspects.
East ‘Mr Wain‘, signed by Will Sharpe (happy coincidence; there is in the portrait of its protagonist the same clumsy and moving tenderness, the same feeling of not belonging entirely to the world of Henry Wilt, Frederic Frensic or Lockhart Flawse) fortunately responds, even in an exemplary way, to this approach, combining humor and tragedy in the story of the unique life of Louis Wain, an English artist specializing in cat drawings, obsessed with electricity and schizophrenic, whose work is often presented as example of how mental illness affects perception.
Lonely kitty fans, who are so charming when it comes to flooding social networks with their adorable photos, will undoubtedly find a compelling reason to enjoy this film and immerse themselves in Wain’s passionate work. But much beware: this is more than just a “pretty” movie.
Will Sharpe succeeds in approaching history in the form of poisoned fairy talemore if he does it with the warm voice of Olivia Coleman. The other great discovery of his are the protagonists of him, a mustachioed benedict cumberbatchin a new example of her ability to move with equal ease in the mainstream and independent universes, and a beautiful and talented Claire Foywho embodies with unusual force the love interest of the artist.
‘Mr. Wain’ and the challenge of capturing an “electric life”
So interesting is the will of the director to get closer in his sequences and frames to the visual world of the creator, with a keen eye for detail and color palettein a similar way to another recent British biopic, ‘Mrs. Lowry and Son’ (Adrian Noble, 2019), based on the life experience of the painter LS Lowry.
With the intention of endowing his work with this febrile and colorful baroque that brings her closer to Wain’s work while helping to understand her pain and behavior, Sharpe approaches the visual and ornate style of Terry Gilliam, Wes Anderson and, sometimes, Tim Burton, with whose ‘ Big eyes’ (2014) has numerous elements in common.
Sometimes even ‘Mr. Wain’ seems like the film that Terry Jones, a member of Monty Python and solo director of works as estimable as ‘Very Personal Services’ (1987) and ‘Wind in the Willows’ (1996), would have wanted to make in his lifetime.
Beyond his very successful aesthetic approach and the undeniable value of his interpretations, what remains of ‘Mr. Wain’ it their love story, touched by the shadow of illness and deathfrom the perspective of a wounded mind, but also endowed with an unstoppable creative capacity that is here the handle of regeneration and salvation.