Flash of Genius Details

Strong performance, another inspiring film

'Flash of Genius' is the one of the known stories that changed the face of US automotive history. Dr. Robert Kearns is a morally-conscious inventor/professor who fights against the Ford Motor Company for not claiming a patent on his invention. In his path to claiming he invented the intermittent windshield wiper, he refuses to take a settled payment for his concerns from Ford and takes on the mission of finding what he needs to support his claim as a case in court as a family man and on his lonesome. The film, based on another inspiring human story and has a captivating performance from Greg Kinnear, authentic props of the 50s, facts about the justifications of US law on patents (with analogies) and some insights to the workings of a intermittent windshield wiper, and a storyline and moral that will resonate with people of the engineering/automotive industry and working-day humans looking inner to their creations and how they claim to be theirs in the voice of the public and in court. Please do bear in mind that this a Hollywood take on a published article from The New York Times about Kearns' battle against the corporation presented solely in this issue and it is not just Ford but another one of the Big Three US automakers mentioned in this film.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Good old fashioned film making

Decent movie with Greg Kinnear on excellent form and a strong supporting cast including Alan Alda. Flash of Genius is very much from the old school of film making - solid, unfussy direction...no flashy camera shots and post modern flourishes here. As a result, it does feel like a worthy TV movie at times but that's a small criticism. This is a fascinating story that grips you from beginning to end and gives you much to think about as the credits roll.