THE AERONAUTS: A Stressful & Stunning Adventure

It’s misleading to label Tom Harper‘s The Aeronauts as a biographical drama. The film drew inspiration from Richard Holmes‘ book Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air, amalgamating details from numerous historical balloon flights. However, Harper and screenwriter Jack Thorne took quite a few artistic liberties when crafting the script.

Who is Amelia Wren?

The most notable historical inaccuracy comes in the form of Felicity Jones‘ character, Amelia Wren. While Eddie Redmayne stars as James Glaisher, an English meteorologist, astronomer, and aeronaut, Amelia Wren is an entirely fictional character. Balloonists Sophie Blanchard and Margaret Graham were sources of inspiration for this character.

But the story at the heart of The Aeronauts is largely based on one particular flight. On September 5, 1862, Glaisher and his co-pilot, Henry Tracey Coxwell broke the world record for altitude. But in The Aeronauts, Coxwell is completely omitted from the narrative and replaced with the character of Amelia Wren.

This modification will either make or break how viewers feel about the film. Those looking for historical accuracy will be livid, while those merely looking for entertainment might be pleasantly surprised. Nonetheless, Felicity Jones is arguably the best thing about The Aeronauts. She’s charismatic and full of life, and yet she has a troubling backstory that gives her character plenty of emotional depth.

Even if she’s a work of fiction, she serves as a fantastic juxtaposition to James Glaisher. While Amelia is lively and carefree, James is stern and devoted to his love of science. However, as the film rolls on and the duo flies higher and higher into the sky, Amelia proves that she’s so much more than the bubbly persona she embodied at the start of the film. She’s intelligent and fearless. While viewers might criticize the film for its inaccuracies, The Aeronauts has the potential to leave young women feeling empowered. It’s refreshing to see that the character of Amelia wasn’t created to be a love interest.

Flashbacks Prevent the Story from Taking Flight

The structure of the film is messy, and the story gets bogged down by its intermittent flashbacks. Right from the beginning, we find out that Amelia’s husband died in a balloon accident. This makes Amelia all the more fascinating because she puts on such a cheerful facade when she first arrives at the hot air balloon for her voyage with James. The fact that she could be so joyful about getting on a balloon after what she went through proves she’s courageous and resilient. However, the impact of this gets lost through the film’s use of flashbacks. If this information was revealed organically in the story as the characters got to know each other better while they were up in the air, it would have been way more affecting.

Solid Performances and Stunning Visuals

Despite a lackluster screenplay, Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne truly work well together to sell everything that happens on the screen. It’s as if viewers can feel the temperature dropping and the change in altitude right alongside the characters, and the terrifying moments are truly anxiety-inducing. Watching these two characters fight to survive is a stressful and thrilling adventure. The combination of breathtaking visuals and the chemistry between Redmayne and Jones is enough to keep The Aeronauts afloat.

The Aeronauts: Conclusion

The Aeronauts is a good film but not necessarily a great one. Regardless of its exhilarating action sequences and strong performances, the film is easily forgettable. With 2019 being such an incredible year for movies, The Aeronauts simply pales in comparison. Even Tom Harper‘s other 2019 release, Wild Rose, is superior.

What did you think of The Aeronauts? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The Aeronauts was released in the US on December 6, 2019 and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime on December 20, 2019. For all international release dates, see here.