This article discusses the ending of the Amazon Prime film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and will contain spoilers.
Ready Steady Cut film critic, M.N. Miller, said The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is “An overdose of whimsy.”
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is about, you guessed it, Louis Wain. He is a renowned artist who reached international fame by drawing illustrations of anthropomorphic cats in the London News. They became so popular they inspired cat societies all over England. He even gained a fan with legendary The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, and The Island of Dr. Moreau author H.G. Wells.
Cumberbatch plays Louis Wain, a renowned artist who had such extreme focus it appeared he had trouble focusing at all. A man who refused to draw humans because they bored him. Fascinated by cats, he was made famous by his illustrations of anthropomorphic cats in the Illustrated London News. He became so popular that his drawings had often been used and copied for sale, the start of cat societies, and famous fans such as H.G. Wells. Up until that point, having a feline as a pet in Great Britain was not just not popular at the time. It was relatively unheard of (though it has been documented that cats have been domesticated for nearly 8,000 years).
Wain has his quirks. Many thought he might have mental health disorders like being bipolar or schizophrenia. Though that was a misdiagnosis, many believe he attributes his extreme attention to detail as part of the Autism spectrum. Either way, he has a lot on his plate. He is the sole support of his mother and sisters (including Mandy’s Andrea Riseborough). He meets his future wife, the new caretaker, Emily (First Man‘s Claire Foy), and they marry.
Amazon Prime film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain ending explained
Emily is later diagnosed with cancer and passes away. This proves too much to bear. With his family history, he is deemed to have Schizophrenia. In a visually stunning scene, Wain is stuck in a room with water filling up the room, and he can’t escape. As he begins to fear that his life will end, he begins to scream, “I’m drowning!” Then, the camera pans out and shows him in his pajamas, standing alone in his bedroom, crying, and screaming without a drop of water in sight. He has psychosis and has had a break.
Now broke, and in a decrepit mental hospital, Wain is celebrated and moved to an excellent facility. When he passes away, his family begins a campaign to keep his memory alive—finally showing him the same support he gave them.
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