CNS Movie Review: Flash of Genius

Flash of Genius

By Harry Forbes
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Stories of inventors denied their rightful due makes good if sometimes unhappy drama. Last season's "The Farnsworth Invention" on Broadway showed television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth facing off against broadcasting kingpin David Sarnoff.

In "Flash of Genius" (Universal), it's Robert Kearns, inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper, facing off against the automobile industry. The story was adapted by Philip Railsback from a 1993 magazine article in The New Yorker by John Seabrook.

Greg Kinnear delivers an outstanding performance as Kearns, a Detroit university professor who ultimately, against all common sense, took on Ford and Chrysler -- as much for justice and his own human dignity -- as for financial due.

Kearns used pre-existing electrical components to make his invention, but his particular flash of genius had to do with assembling them in a unique manner that was unprecedented. The title refers to a 1941 Supreme Court decision which decreed that an inventor "must reveal the flash of creative genius, not merely the skill of the calling."

The film shows us Kearns living in Detroit with his Catholic churchgoing family (we see them saying grace, too) comprised of schoolteacher wife Phyllis (a sympathetic Lauren Graham) and their six children. While holding down his job at Wayne State University, he continues to tinker in his basement with the windshield wiper he has based on the principle of a blinking eye.

With the help of his dedicated brood, he eventually perfects the design, which he then brings to his oldest friend, Gil Previck (Dermot Mulroney), owner of an auto parts business, and they take out a patent. Before long, giant Ford expresses interest, but then suddenly and inexplicably, backs out of their verbal commitment.

Kearns is distressed when one rainy night he spots his very own windshield wiper on a couple of passing Ford cars. His subsequent determination to see justice done leads to an obsessive downward spiral and a nervous breakdown. But even after hospitalization, he refuses to give up on his quest.

Producer Marc Abraham, in his directorial debut, has fashioned an absorbing film, despite flaws. We've seen this story before, and the "bad guys" are rather too obvious from the start -- the Ford execs look shady indeed, and so does his erstwhile business partner, Gil -- while the production design is so classily muted, you almost think the film is set in the 1930s rather than, in fact, spanning 1969-82.

Kinnear is a delight in light comedy, but though he's had serious roles before, he's never demonstrated the depth he has here. Paunchy, with thinning hair brushed back, he makes you understand Kearns' obsession, and in the Capraesque courtroom scenes, he recalls James Stewart and Gary Cooper as a decent Everyman going up against the establishment. Alan Alda has a good bit as a slickly pragmatic lawyer.

This story also beautifully underscores the importance of family. Though the loving and endlessly patient Phyllis finally walks out, she's back to support him at the end, and during the long legal preparations, we see his children, one by one, touchingly come to their dad's aid.

Kearns died of cancer in 2005, but his David and Goliath story, anchored by Kinnear's solid work, makes inspiring viewing.

The film contains some crude words, one instance of the F-word and intermittent profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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