‘Flash of Genius’ | 3 stars
By ROBERT W. BUTLER The Kansas City Star
David battles Goliath in a long and ugly brawl in the more-or-less true story “Flash of Genius.”
Bob Kearns (Greg Kinnear) is a devout Catholic, father of six and an engineering professor who wants his students to think about the morality of their work. After all, he lectures, the engineer who designs a water treatment plant can also draw up a Nazi-style gas chamber.
Bob is out driving one rainy day in 1963 when he becomes frustrated with the one speed of his car’s windshield wipers — they’re too slow to be effective in heavy rain and scrape when there’s only a sprinkle.
Wife Phyllis (Lauren Graham) encourages him to invent a solution, which he and the kids do down in their basement. He calls it the intermittent windshield wiper mechanism. With dreams of putting himself in the history books — and making some money — he patents his creation and goes about peddling it to Detroit.
Ford, whose engineers have been trying to create the same thing without success, announce they’re going into business with Kearns. Then the company inexplicably cancels the deal after seeing up close how the mechanism works. Kearns is more than a little upset when Ford’s new product line features his invention and decides to take the carmaker to court. It’s a battle that will go on for 25 years.
Written by Philip Railsback and directed by first-timer Marc Abraham, “Flash of Genius” is a character study of a man whose obsession with doing what’s right comes close to madness.
He is told the automobile manufacturers can drag a case through the courts for decades. They have deep pockets; a college professor doesn’t.
In his anger and dismay, Kearns very nearly takes up stalking Ford executives. His paranoia drives away his wife and sends him to a mental ward. But he’s persistent. He hires an attorney (Alan Alda) who obtains a fat settlement offer from Ford. But because Ford won’t acknowledge his part in creating the intermittent wiper, Kearns turns it down. The lawyer quits in disgust.
Years pass, his children grow and become part of his legal team. Kearns represents himself in court and turns down a $13 million settlement because Ford won’t admit its guilt.
It’s not about the money. It’s about what’s right.
It’s hard to decide if “Flash of Genius” is an inspirational tale or a cautionary one. Bob Kearns’ staking out the high moral ground is principled, yes, but by turning down a settlement and seeking full vindication in court he’s also threatening the welfare of his family. Most of us, one suspects, would take the money and run.
Kinnear, one of our most underrated actors, walks this tightrope carefully. We go from rooting for Bob Kearns to regarding him as a mopey sad sack who’s ruining the party — and back again. It’s a testament to Kinnear’s charisma that we stick with Kearns through thick and thin.
‘FLASH OF GENIUS’ ★★★
Director: Marc Abraham
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney, Alan Alda
Rated: PG-13 for brief strong language
Running time: 1:59
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