It was a time, apparently, when people bought tickets to see a boat launching. The year is 1862 and the Screw You, Gravity Society has invited the next three Doctor Whos (Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, and Himesh Patel) to introduce a big balloon and show off their elevator-riding skills. As Elisha Otis had just patented the design of the modern elevator a year previous, perhaps it was all the rage at the time to see people rise vertically for a few seconds and then disappear.
Oh, but I mock too quickly. The balloon’s owner, Amelia Wren (Jones), brought a dog. And the crowd whoops it up. You’re cheering … a dog? OK. Suffice to say, I wasn’t impressed by the opening of The Aeronauts.
James Glaisher (Redmayne) is the world’s first meteorologist. He has these crazy ideas about weather being “predictable.” HA! His big idea is to study the weather from the other side of it, which makes sense in an insane kind of way. Unable to convince his peers that being able to predict London’s weather will suck rather than just assuming London’s weather will suck, he gloms onto Ms. Wren as his balloonefactor. Luckily for him, she’s got her own vertical agenda; I’d like to say this has something to do with a glass ceiling, but when you’ve got a balloon, there is no ceiling.
Together, these two plan on breaking the vertical record for human ascension, which in 1862 was reported as 23,000 feet. Oh, really? 23,000 feet was the highest man had ever risen at the time? Was Mt. Everest a mile shorter in those days … or are we just gonna pretend Sir Edmund Hillary invented mountain climbing? No matter, I suppose. These two are gonna get high. And they’re gonna do it rain or shine. The “rain” part was a monumentally stupid idea. Thunder clouds treat balloons like beach balls at a rock concert. And, for reasons known only to the screenplay, our two balloonists took no safety precautions whatsoever. Did you two not pay attention when the flight attendant gave their spiel? Your seats should remain in an upright and locked position during a turbulent flight.
So while I wasn’t impressed with the set-up, the goal, or the leads, I was impressed by the adventure, the minutiae, and the cinematography. The Aeronauts is a lovely film to imagine yourself soaring above the clouds; it also gave the best science lessons of the movie season. It seems very odd that in our critical time of climate destruction with respect to human history, the best earth-science film to talk about it explores what we discovered 150 years ago, but hey, anything to get people taking honestly about scientific fact is better than nothing. I’m pretty sure the thrills Aeronauts provided were exaggerated to some extent, but I’m not sure it matters a great deal. Fact is that ballooning in 1862 was taking your life into your own hands, so whether the threats were blown up for dramatic reaction is almost irrelevant; the potential consequence of standing on a building ledge is no different regardless of footwear. The Aeronauts simply chose to show (figuratively) people on that ledge wearing roller skates.
For the most part, this is a film about two people in a balloon. That’s not gonna do it for most folks, especially if you’re not a fan of Jones or Redmayne. Hence, the concessions to action junkies. Tell you what – I can’t say I loved The Aeronauts, but I did like it enough to give a mild recommendation. That said, if you’re apt to see it, this is a big screen adventure; don’t watch this Netflix production on your cell phone.
Above all these clouds, we two
Find peril aggressive and true
With flightpath unsure
And tethers insecure
Next time, we’re not flying Jet Blue!
Rated PG-13, 100 Minutes
Director: Tom Harper
Writer: Jack Thorne
Genre: How people entertained themselves before video games
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who can imagine spending an entire day with Eddie Redmayne
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Acrophobes
