Greg Kinnear powers 'Flash of Genius'

Greg Kinnear is such a likable guy that he's able to slide damaged characters under the radar so that audiences root for and connect with them before they realize that there's something wrong with them. It isn't that his characters don't deserve sympathy; it's just that viewers need to understand that they have flaws.

Kinnear conveyed his special talent well in "Little Miss Sunshine," "Feast of Love" and "Auto Focus," and he does it again in "Flash of Genius." In this film based on a true story, he plays Bob Kearns, an inventor whose obsession takes him down a road most people would not follow.

In the early 1960s, Bob and wife Phyllis (Lauren Graham) have a good life and a growing family in the Detroit suburbs. Bob, who has an engineering degree, tinkers in his basement workshop when he's not teaching college classes on ethics in engineering.

A rainy-day drive gives Bob the idea to make a windshield wiper that can be adjusted for lighter or heavier precipitation. Phyllis and the kids are supportive as he develops a prototype.

Bob shares his concept with Gil Privick (Dermot Mulroney), a friend who makes auto parts, and soon he has investors and has filed patents. A demonstration at Ford gets him a deal, though the Ford folks aren't happy that Bob wants to manufacture the intermittent windshield wiper instead of merely taking royalties for sales.

When Ford pulls a dirty trick, Bob refuses to bow to the automaker's undeniable power. He turns into a crusader, taking on a modern-day Goliath. His mission is an important one, but it takes a toll as he becomes more and more obsessed with it.

It's going to be a hard sell -- getting people to theaters to see a movie about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. So it's a good thing that director Marc Abraham, working from a script by the late Philip Railsback that was based on a New Yorker article by John Seabrook, goes beyond the facts of the case and into deeper, more human territory.

The main character feels that he's on a righteous quest, and he is. Early on, the audience feels the depth of his integrity before seeing how he is wronged and his disbelief turns to anger. But as important as principles are, there's also the matter of mental stability, which certainly becomes a question, as does the extent of familial duty.

Kinnear puts power into his performance and holds the audience, even as the film eases toward delayed dramatics. Time notations such as "three years earlier" and "18 months later" make for awkward transitions in this inspiring tale.

A strong sense of tension and fine work by Kinnear and his co-stars rev up "Flash of Genius" when the script's tendency would be to keep it in idle.

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Four stars (out of five)

(Contact Knoxville News Sentinel film critic Betsy Pickle at pickle(at)knews.com.)

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