The aeronauts

review by isabella noonan

The Aeronauts is a loose adaptation of meteorologist James Glaisher’s 1862 altitude-record-setting hot air balloon flight. Glaisher, here portrayed by Eddie Redmayne, takes advantage of his background as a pioneering weather scientist and seeks to use the hot air balloon, previously used primarily as an object of spectacle, to study the atmosphere. His partner in these endeavors is the aeronaut Amelia Wren, portrayed by Felicity Jones. Rather than being a one-to-one historical match, Wren is presented as a composite character inspired by several aeronauts, including Glaisher’s real-life ballooning partner Henry Coxwell and the first female solo aeronaut Sophie Blanchard.

Having previously worked together on the Oscar-winning The Theory of Everything, Jones and Redmayne continue to establish themselves as a worthy on-screen duo. What could easily have been cookie-cutter characters are elevated into three dimensions. Redmayne, by now well-practiced in playing the quirky-misunderstood intellectual (see: The Theory of Everything, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), delivers Glaisher with a standoffish stubborn-headedness that plays well off of his co-star. Jones, however, easily steals the show; her character slips gracefully between personable adventure-seeker, to guilt-ridden widow traumatized over past career events, and teeth-gritting Final Girl-archetype willing to push beyond her physical limits to survive.

The majority of the film’s 101-minute runtime tracks Wren and Glaisher’s voyage in nearly real time, from the balloon’s takeoff to the height of ascent. Though the fact that its leads are essentially confined to the cramped quarters of the balloon’s wicker basket imposes serious constraints on the range of shots available, the film thrives because of, and not despite this. Tense close-ups revealing every micro-expression crossing the actors’ faces are alternated with sweeping shots of the balloon hovering high over London, above the cloud cover, set against the stars visible in the upper atmosphere. The effect is remarkable: a bottle episode of an interpersonal drama in one shot, in the next our protagonists and their vehicle so small and insignificant compared to the vertigo-inducing void around them as to provoke existentialism.

It is a feeling not dissimilar to those inspired by many a space drama; our aeronauts, it seems, are not unlike a 19th-century astronaut. In its most heart-stopping moments (every time our protagonists lean too far out of the basket, engage in too dangerous an aerial stunt, are driven to the brink of human survival in an inhospitable upper atmosphere) The Aeronauts feels almost like a time-shifted adaptation of 2013’s Gravity. If the physics seem occasionally questionable, and the timeline slightly odd, we can ignore these quibbles in favor of the overall effect: a depiction of human beings willing to do whatever it takes to survive in a world utterly fantastical to them.

Had the movie stuck more closely to the Gravity model - inching forward through action and buildup alike, forcing us to sit with our intrepid explorers through every tense second - it might, perhaps, have created the same sorts of lasting impressions. As it is, however, the rhythm of the film is interrupted repeatedly by flashbacks of our protagonists’ lives leading up to their ballooning expedition. Some of these are necessary for the backstory; Wren’s periodic memories of her last, ill-fated aeronautical expedition with her husband are imperative to appreciate the fear and guilt she carries into her trip with Glaisher. But the majority of the flashbacks serve only to distract from the pacing of the main plot. Jones’ and Redmayne’s performances are strong enough to convey to the viewer their backstories and their relationship with each other without needing to be spelled out to the audience.

Ultimately, the appeal of The Aeronauts lies not in any strength as a biopic. By inventing an entirely new pilot to accompany Glaisher, the film has relinquished any claim as a true historical recreation of the voyage. Instead, this period piece comes across as a Victorian-era equivalent of a space drama. Those approaching the film in that light will find much to enjoy.

The Aeronauts opens to Irish audiences on November 8th.