A pretty straighforward 'David and Goliath' story about integrity and maintaining one's core beliefs in right and wrong, Flash of Genius offers a glimpse into the early days of intellectual property, versus ironclad patents.
Flash of Genius Brief Synopsis
Bob Kearns (Kinnear) is an moderately successful inventor with a handful of patents to his name, who works as a professor to make ends meet, as he lives with his wife and several children.
One day upon driving home with his family, he groans that by the time his windshield wipers come around full cycle during a downpour, there is still little vision available to see traffic in front of him. That is when a "flash of genius" (a modern term describing a person's sudden realization of an idea, without having researched it or experimented beforehand) occurs, and Kearns has an idea involving some modification in how the electric voltage would feed into his wiper motors, emulating humans' ability to blink and clean the cornea.
As he spends long hours testing this idea, he finally comes up with the "intermittent wiper", and starts planning some well secured demonstrations for the big auto companies, who up until now toyed with the concept but could never make it work.
After approaching a cautious and calculating Ford Company executive (Mitch Pileggi, The X-Files: I want to Believe), he agrees to let them see specs, under the professional verbal agreement that he receive full compensation and credit for his invention. Time passes, and Ford decides to thank him for the offer, but decide to take a pass.
Later on, as Kearns drives home one day, he notices a latest Ford model in the rainy traffic, one equipped with his concept. Angered at how Ford could have possibly appropriated his idea, Kearns decides to take matters into his own hands, and goes after the Ford Company, one of many large corporations who adopt the same modifications.
What follows is a lengthy, difficult legal battle in which Kearns, having little and limited funds, eventually acts as his own legal defense. Having many received settlement offers in the long run, Kearns refuses them, still insisting on receiving full credit for the invention. Unfortunately, he never stops to realize the toll this takes on his life, his health and most of all, his family.
Flash of Genius is an insightful drama about one man's pursuit of the truth, during which his moral and emotional limits are pushed to the brink.
Flash of Genius Overall Analysis
This film is well intentioned, and the acting is engaging, however its core problem is unavoidable: it is invariably a film about the man who invented intermittent windshield wipers. Though this true story does hold some potential as a powerful drama, the story gets bogged down into some legalities and slow subplots about the immoral machinations the large companies engage in, oblivious to the small independents who threaten their bottom line.
That being said, this film can't be viewed as a bona fide legal drama, as it becomes as gripping a tale as watching an appeals court case about unpaid parking tickets. Most viewers can probably root for the Kearns character right away (say, half an hour into the film), however it gets increasingly harder to sustain audience participation for a two-hour running time.
The cast and crew of this film can't be blamed for the source material (well, maybe the producers can, thinking this film had box office legs), and Greg Kinnear (Oscar nominated for As Good As It Gets) does his best to do his character justice. This movie being somewhat of a biopic/legal drama-wannabe hybrid, Kinnear appears in almost every single scene. This leaves supporting players such as Laurie Graham (Gilmore Girls), Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) and Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding) with very little to do, other than come on screen, support Kearns' quest briefly, and dissapear behind the curtains.
This movie is likely to attract fans interested in some glimpses of the corporate automotive machine; people who have seen and enjoyed Francis Ford Coppola's Tucker: A Man and His Dream will likely fall for this modest little drama about believing in one's integrity, and the ability to stand tall while still holding true to the concept of right and wrong.
Flash of Genius DVD Features
The DVD has very little in the way of interesting extras, offering the usual director's commentary, and a handful of deleted (and forgettable) scenes.
6/10 for managing some sympathetic audience engagement, but minus points for essentially being a movie about windshield wipers.
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