Edison & Leo

Dir Neil Burns w/ Powers Boothe, Gregory Smith. 79 min. Canada First.

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BY Kieran Grant   September 02, 2008 21:09

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Neil Burns’ deeply unusual stop-motion animated fable comes on like one of those Rankin/Bass animagic Christmas specials as filtered through the worlds of both Tim Burton and Guy Maddin. George T. Edison (voiced with gonzo gusto by Boothe) is a slightly mad inventor in Victorian-era Manitoba, a gothic and enchanted setting that gets dark when George’s passions and pursuits result in the death of his wife and the electrocution of his son Leo. Left to grow up electrified and friendless on his father’s estate, Leo’s feelings are mixed and his heart heavy as he finds love and gets a taste of revenge. Funny, haunting and not a little ambivalent, Burns’ jolly nightmare leaves a bizarre afterglow. Don’t bring the kids: it might give them ideas. 

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