"The Aeronauts" - A Review of the 2019 Tom Harper Film
Beautifully
filmed in a way that you just don't see anymore – 2019’s "The
Aeronauts" is apparently based on true events - though I'm not sure how
much of the extraordinary daring-do that Felicity Jones' character does seven
miles up is based on any kind of actual reality (I suspect her staggering
stunts are there to amp up the tension and empathy).
Suspending
disbelief or not – this is a wee cracker of a film and Amazon have clearly
thrown a few quid at it because the visuals are properly gorgeous and the
cleverly structured backstory flashbacks just enough to make the journey up
illuminating and interesting.
Both
Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne are superb as wild skybird Amelia Wren and
stuffy atmospherics scientist Dr. James Glaisher - a man ridiculed by his
fellows and colleagues (Tim McInnerny of Blackadder and Game Of Thrones fame
amongst them) as he implores their academically well-to-do top hats for money
and faith in his latest and greatest endeavour - to map out and possibly even
predict the weather by finding out what exactly is up there and how it works (I
mean real high up there).
Both
of these damaged people are driven to reach for the stars even if it is a tad
foolish and life killing in the process. Felicity’s widow character was married
to another damn-the-torpedoes aeronaut called Pierre Rennes played fleetingly
by Vincent Perez (mostly in flashback). This handsome Frenchman had won her
heart big time and his loss to the pushing-of-ballooning-boundaries cost him
his life two years before the film opens (simultaneously killing her desire to
attach herself to any other male of the same persuasion).
Felicity
Jones is fantastic in the role (as is Redmayne) and the believable chemistry
between them as actors that showed up in "The Theory Of Everything"
film turns up once again here. This time however and right from the start, her
Amelia seems to dominate proceedings, a ball of energy even when her heart is
broken. Coming on like a sort of face-painted Annie Oakley of the skies, Amelia
also instinctively knows how to play the be-suited and frilly-frocked 1862
crowd promised an historic assent into the sky at 5pm sharp (the first time we
meet her). She arrives in true theatrical tradition astride a highwayman's
coach only minutes before the task – much to the ire of Dr. Glaisher and
carnival showman Ned Chambers played with I-don't-care-if-you-die-just-give-my-punters-a-spectacle
relish by Robert Glenister. Ned wants the nutty duo to go higher that anyone
has ever gone before (and with a dog in tow too, cutesy). But the experienced
lady and the seeming novice man have different ideas once in the air.
The
socially awkward Dr. Glaisher is all pencil-notebooks, meteorological
instruments, second-precise pocket watches and carrier pigeons in wooden boxes
(to send back his measurements and therefore keep the science real and
provable). Wren had to be dragged kicking and screaming back into the basket
and we learn why in flashback (a frazzled but burgeoning relationship between
herself and Dr. Glaisher). Amelia Wren may appear flippant but she knows what
she's aeronautically doing (a few thousand feet up, she slips out of her corset
and puts on a real flying person's oil-skin kit). Then she has to deal with
hypoxia and oxygen depravation and other botherations. As you can imagine, as
they go even higher and the risks start to exponentially mount up, testing
their resolve and their ludicrously exposed breadbasket cocoon, a splendid time
is guaranteed for all...
Directed
with loving skill and visual flair by Tom Harper - the film does well not to
fall into the 'they fall in love' trap that looms over every scene as danger
loosens their emotions and lips. And those of a vertigo nature will truly have
their nerves and senses shredded and tingled in equal amounts. There are nutty
amounts of hanging out of (and on to) ropes and wicker and inflated sheets – in
short, precious little separating them from the crushing earth below and that
other pesky little scientific thing called gravity. The CGI is world-class good
- beautiful shots of the oldie-worldie balloon floating ever upwards through
clouds and storms and snows particles and respites of clear blue calm. And of
courses there's those hair-raising views of the earth below as one or both them
stand astride the creaking pod - looking downwards shots that show you just how
precarious their scientific predicament truly is.
Aiding
them in their quest to beat 23,000 feet above sea-level are earthbound friends
(Himesh Patel excellent as the level-headed John Thew) and family trying to
hang on to the shirt tails of a womanly force of nature - Amelia's practical
and truthful sister Antonia (the beautiful Phoebe Fox) and a worried but
understanding/inspirational mum and dad (veteran actors Anne Reid and Tom
Courtney). And on it goes as our heroes take the wonder in their hearts and
apply it to limitlessness of the skies.
"The
Aeronauts" is old-fashioned for sure and some might find it a tad cheesy
in this age of mega Marvel special effects extravaganzas constantly trying to
out-gobsmack the vacuous predecessor. But it's also a surprisingly lovely and
engaging film. You root for these characters in their balls-to-the-wall bravery
and you applaud inside as their good old British gumption wins the eventual
day.
I'm
down with that. And if "The Aeronauts" ever shows up on BLU RAY – I'd
love to own it and I'll send one to me mum too (take that Tony Stark)...
