Flash of Genius (DVD)

Director Marc Abraham's Flash of Genius is a perfectly fine movie yet all the while it is very much forgettable. It's unfortunate because the movie itself is well-crafted and pleasantly diverting, but never achieves anything more than cursory significance.

The story centers on Detroit college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns's (Greg Kinnear) and his decades-long fight against the Ford Motor Company for recognition of his creating the "Blinking Eye Motor System" used by the manufacturer in their windshield wipers. Such a case fits perfectly in the populist sentiments sweeping the country today; it's a fight against corporate malfeasance and greed people can instantly relate to, as current events give the picture a modern relevance it might otherwise never have achieved.

The problem is, as good as Philip Railsback's script (based on a 1993 article in "The New Yorker" by Richard Seabrook) and Abraham's direction is, I was not wrapped up inside the Kearns family's melodrama in any palpable sort of way leaving me with nothing more than mild appreciation for their trials and tribulations by the time it was all over. Robert's story is, theoretical happy outcome aside, a highly tragic one. Looking at what he lost, taking in the price his family had to pay for his determined doggedness, I couldn't help but wonder if any form of vindication was actually worth the cost.

I even wonder if the filmmakers themselves know what the answer is with regard to Robert's legal outcome and everything he risked to achieve it. They walk a fine line trying to have their cake and eat it to, almost afraid if they lean one way or the other viewers won't be able to take the finished product seriously. While I can appreciate their desire to stay impartial, this is one case where you almost have to pick a side and go full-throttle with it. The dramatic impact of everything gained and lost is nothing close to what I can only imagine was desired.

I do have to note the acting by all involved is very good. Kinnear is striking as Kearns, reminding me why I have such an affinity for this many times overlooked and underrated performer. Also memorable are former "Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham as Robert's wife Phyllis, Alan Alda as Robert's lawyer, Mitch Pileggi as a calculating Ford executive and Dermot Mulroney as Kearns' friend and business associate who quickly understands the David versus Goliath scenario in front of them.

Universal Pictures' standard definition DVD release of Flash of Genius is pretty bare-bones. There are a collection of rather dull deleted scenes that definitely should have remained on the cutting room floor as well as a somewhat monotone audio commentary from Abraham that does get better as it goes along. In fact, by the time he's wrapping things up he'd done a better job of convincing me of the importance of Kearns' struggle than the motion picture itself.