MOVIE · 2021

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

ComedyDocumentaryDrama111 min

Eccentric British artist Louis Wain helps turn cats from mousers into pop-cultural obsessions as his playful, increasingly surreal drawings spread through England from the late 1800s into the 1930s. Benedict Cumberbatch is Wain, a restless illustrator fascinated by the hidden “electrical” patterns of the world and driven by work, curiosity, and family duty. At the center of his life is Claire Foy’s Emily Richardson, whose marriage to Louis shapes the emotional thread of the story as his reputation grows. The film follows Wain through his art, his household, and the unusual vision that made his cat paintings instantly recognizable.