Flash of Genius
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Directed by: Marc Abraham
Starring:
Greg Kinnear - Bob Kearns
Lauren Graham - Phyllis Kearns
Dermot Mulroney - Gil Privick
Alan Alda - Gregory Lawson
Flash of Genius is the perfect example of a "phyrric victory". For those that don't know what that it is, it's a phrase used to describe a victory where the cost of winning a single encounter is outweighed by the damage done in order to achieve that success. Such is the tale of Bob Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear), who in his quest to receive credit for the intermittent wind-shield wiper, ends up destroying his sanity, his career, and his family just so Ford Motor company will acknowledge that Kearns invented the device.
Principles are important. The strength of our commitment to those principles are just as important. But principles must be prioritized. It's hard to feel sympathy for Kearns as he throws everything away and repeated lets us know that it's about the credit, not about the money. The way the film plays out, it seems like Kearns is more interested in his own ego and recognition than his family. The film takes a cheap short cut in making this a redeeming quality as his six children all help him on his case. They apparently harbor no resentment over Daddy's monomaniacal focus. Those are some great kids. Imaginary, but great nonetheless.
It's not impossible to tell a story where Kearns is a more sympathetic character, but the film simply refuses to spend any time on character development or letting situations breathe. The flow of the story is absolutely atrocious. There are two scenes which take place back-to-back during the film. The first is Bob hiring a lawyer played by Alan Alda who seems like a crusader for justice and wants to make sure Bob receives it. The scene immediately following Alda has undergone a complete personality change. He doesn't care what Kearns wants; he wants Kearns to take a settlement. It's actually one of the film's stronger exchanges but it's crippled because we've missed an entire year of story. It was if the writers saw nothing inherently dramatic in the time line and just decided to skip it. I know it's based on a true story but the key word there is "based"; it's okay to fill in a few gaps if it helps make the true story more compelling. It's up to the viewer to fill in the blanks but I'd rather do that by studying facial expressions and cinematography decisions rather than writing deleted scenes in my head.
The film tries to have a lesson about fighting for what's right and ethics but it feels very hollow. Before the final verdict is reached, you know it doesn't matter because Kearns has ripped his life apart to get credit for a popular invention, but an invention where only the biggest trivia geeks could identify its creator (before this movie; slightly more trivia geeks will be able to answer now). He could have sent all of his kids to the best colleges with the money Ford was willing to settle for but because Kearns thinks stubbornness is the same as determination, he believes he's teaching his kids a valuable lesson (the lesson: put yourself before your own family's welfare). Thankfully, no major corporation screwed over an individual ever again.
Flash of Genius has its heart in the right place but everything it does leads to the wrong message. The story is solid but horrendously told. Kearns may have achieved a phyrric victory, but the film about his story is a flat-out failure.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
10.3.08