The Aeronauts

The Aeronauts

Starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Tom Courtenay

Directed by Tom Harper

I do not enjoy heights, not even close.  I see people riding in balloons (one even landed in the backyard of the home I grew up in) and I wonder how the heck they could even handle that, being suspended miles in the air with nothing but a basket to keep them from plummeting to their death, relying on a big balloon to keep them afloat.  "The Aeronauts" manages to complete my fear of heights as it provides several pulse pounding moments that freaked me out, even knowing that they're literally not miles in the air, but feeling like they are due to the stellar effects portrayed.

The film focuses on meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne), who wants to prove to the Royal Society in 19th century London that weather can be predicted, and to do that he suggests going up in a balloon to unknown heights to prove it.  He's laughed out of the society, but still plans on accomplishing his dream, enlisting pilot Amelia (Felicity Jones) to take him up there.  She agrees even after dealing with the death of her husband after a previous ballooning accident, and the two began their ascent into the skies.  As they continue rising, the air gets thinner, the weather gets colder, and they find themselves in the fight of their lives as they struggle against their bodies, the elements, and over 30,000 feet of air that separates them from the ground.

The film is a biopic of sorts in that it chronicles the real life journey of James Glaisher, whose findings helped shape the study of meteorology and paved the way for current weather reports, and the perils he faced both in the air and on the ground to see his dream happen.  However, it deviates greatly from the real life story in that his partner on the balloon in real life was pilot Henry Coxwell, while here it's an amalgamated female character named Amelia who's based off several female aeronauts and scientists, most notably Sophie Blanchard, who also lost her husband in a balloon accident like Amelia did.  Director Tom Harper defended his decision by saying he wasn't out to make a documentary, and the chemistry between Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne was one of the big sellers for the project since the two worked intimately together in "The Theory of Everything," in which both were nominated for Oscars for their performances (with Redmayne winning his).  The result is something fascinating, even if it's a bit cliched and predictable, but still an entertaining thrill ride for most of the journey.

The best parts of the film are when Amelia and James are in the balloon and their ascent to the heavens, as they break through a tremendous thunderstorm that sends them flying around like rag dolls, and facing unspeakable cold and frostbite, along with the threat of hypoxia.  The balloon itself also struggles, leading Amelia to have to climb to the top of the balloon to fix it, leading to the most stressful, palm-sweating moments of the film.

You can tell their journey was filmed safely on a sound stage, with heavy use of CGI that showcases the lavish London landscape from above, but it doesn't take away from the realism of it all, at least for me - but then again, as I said before, I'm deathly scared of heights, so even imagining myself in that sort of situation is terrifying.  Throw in excellent cinematography by George Steel and the fast-paced editing of Mark Eckersley, and you've got an epic adventure despite the film's pitfalls - most notably the flashbacks to how James and Amelia meet, which I couldn't care less about.

Utilizing compelling CGI and fast-paced editing, "The Aeronauts" is a high air adventure featuring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones that'll have you thankful you're rooted in the ground.

The Score: A-