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== Reception ==
== Reception ==
According to the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 83% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 30 reviews, with an [[average rating]] of 6.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Thrilling visuals and the substantial chemistry of its well-matched leads make ''The Aeronauts'' an adventure well worth taking."<ref name="RT">{{cite web |title= The Aeronauts (2019) |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_aeronauts |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |accessdate= October 25, 2019 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title= The Aeronauts |url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-aeronauts |website= [[Metacritic]] |accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref>
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 84% based on reviews from 32 critics, with an average rating of 6.31/10.<ref>{{cite web |title= The Aeronauts (2019) |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_aeronauts |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |accessdate= October 31, 2019 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title= The Aeronauts |url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-aeronauts |website= [[Metacritic]] |accessdate= October 31, 2019 }}</ref>


Todd McCarthy of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote: "''The Aeronauts'' achieves impressive elevation as a bracing and sympathetic account of two early and very different aviators who together reached literal new heights in a perilous field of endeavor."<ref>{{cite web |date= |author1= Todd McCarthy |author-link1= Todd McCarthy |title= 'The Aeronauts': Film Review {{!}} Telluride 2019 |url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/aeronauts-review-1236003 |website= [[The Hollywood Reporter]] }}</ref> Fionnuala Halligan of [[Screen International]] wrote about the chemistry of the lead actors and the great craft on display in the film: "With the widest of wide-screens, the most vertiginous of vistas, this hot air balloon takes to the skies and soars"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-aeronauts-review/5142716.article|title='The Aeronauts': Review|last=Halligan|first=Fionnuala|website=Screen|access-date=2019-10-24}}</ref>. Tomris Laffly of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' praised the visuals and the lead performers: "The duo [of Redmayne and Jones] hand-in-hand elevates [The Aeronauts] ... from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen, even if it operates on a handful of clichés with little character-based substance to speak of."<ref>{{cite web |date= 4 September 2019 |accessdate= 23 September 2019 |last= Laffly |first= Tomris |title= Telluride Film Review: 'The Aeronauts' |url= https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-aeronauts-review-1203323219/ |website= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref>
Todd McCarthy of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote: "''The Aeronauts'' achieves impressive elevation as a bracing and sympathetic account of two early and very different aviators who together reached literal new heights in a perilous field of endeavor."<ref>{{cite web |date= |author1= Todd McCarthy |author-link1= Todd McCarthy |title= 'The Aeronauts': Film Review {{!}} Telluride 2019 |url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/aeronauts-review-1236003 |website= [[The Hollywood Reporter]] }}</ref> Fionnuala Halligan of [[Screen International]] wrote about the chemistry of the lead actors and the great craft on display in the film: "With the widest of wide-screens, the most vertiginous of vistas, this hot air balloon takes to the skies and soars"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-aeronauts-review/5142716.article|title='The Aeronauts': Review|last=Halligan|first=Fionnuala|website=Screen|access-date=2019-10-24}}</ref>. Tomris Laffly of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' praised the visuals and the lead performers: "The duo [of Redmayne and Jones] hand-in-hand elevates [The Aeronauts] ... from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen, even if it operates on a handful of clichés with little character-based substance to speak of."<ref>{{cite web |date= 4 September 2019 |accessdate= 23 September 2019 |last= Laffly |first= Tomris |title= Telluride Film Review: 'The Aeronauts' |url= https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-aeronauts-review-1203323219/ |website= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref>

Revision as of 15:13, 31 October 2019

The Aeronauts
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom Harper
Screenplay byJack Thorne
Story by
  • Tom Harper
  • Jack Thorne
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGeorge Steel
Edited byMark Eckersley
Music bySteven Price
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 30, 2019 (2019-08-30) (Telluride)
  • November 4, 2019 (2019-11-04) (United Kingdom)
  • December 6, 2019 (2019-12-06) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[3]

The Aeronauts is a 2019 biographical adventure film directed by Tom Harper, and written by Jack Thorne from a story co-written by Thorne and Harper. Produced by Todd Lieberman, David Hoberman, and Harper, the film stars Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel and Tom Courtenay.[4]

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, followed by a showing at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.[5][6]

Premise

Daredevil pilot Amelia Rennes and weather scientist James Glaisher find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon.[7]

Cast

Production

In December 2016, Amazon Studios purchased the film rights to Jack Thorne's spec script.[8] In mid-2018, Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne were confirmed to star in the film.[9][10] Filming commenced in early August, in West London Film Studios.[11]

Filming locations in England included the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Regent's Park, London, Claydon House, Buckinghamshire, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and Wrotham Park, London.[11]

Key action sequences in The Aeronauts were designed for IMAX and feature an expanded aspect ratio for both IMAX and select Premium Large Format theaters.[12]

Historical accuracy

The film is based on an amalgam of the flights detailed in Richard Holmes' 2013 book Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air (ISBN 978-0-00-738692-5). The most significant balloon flight depicted in The Aeronauts is based on the September 5, 1862, flight of British aeronauts James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell whose hot air balloon broke the world flight altitude record, reaching about 11,887 m (38,999 ft).[13] However, while Glaisher appears in the film, Coxwell has been replaced by Amelia Rennes, a fictional character.[14] A report in the Daily Telegraph quotes Keith Moore,[15] Head of Library at the Royal Society as saying, "It's a great shame that Henry [Coxwell] isn't portrayed because he performed very well and saved the life of a leading scientist". Moore then criticized the film's fictional female protagonist, stating “There were so many deserving female scientists of that period who haven't had films made about them. Why not do that instead?"[16]

Other critics of the film have praised Amelia as an important, aspirational female character. Sasha Stone of Awards Daily wrote that The Aeronauts "inspires young girls and nudges the perspectives of young boys... (proving) that women can be just as excited about taking a hero's journey as any man can."[17]

In addition to Coxwell, actual individuals who comprise the Amelia Wren character include:

  • Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, who became a celebrated aeronaut following her husband's death. Felicity Jones has stated that Blanchard was the inspiration for her character.[18]
  • Margaret Graham, a British aeronaut and entertainer.

Wren's relationship with husband Pierre is chiefly based on Sophie Blanchard's flights with husband Jean-Pierre Blanchard, while Pierre's death is inspired by that of Thomas Harris on May 25, 1824.[19]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019.[20] It also screened at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019.[21] Entertainment One will give the film a full UK theatrical release on November 4 including screenings in 4DX and IMAX.[22] Amazon Studios will release the film on December 6 for a limited US theatrical run, before debuting it on Amazon Prime Video worldwide on December 20, 2019.[23]

In October 2019, it was announced that The Aeronauts would screen at the IMAX TCL Chinese Theatre as part of AFI Fest.[24]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on reviews from 32 critics, with an average rating of 6.31/10.[25] On Metacritic the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The Aeronauts achieves impressive elevation as a bracing and sympathetic account of two early and very different aviators who together reached literal new heights in a perilous field of endeavor."[27] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International wrote about the chemistry of the lead actors and the great craft on display in the film: "With the widest of wide-screens, the most vertiginous of vistas, this hot air balloon takes to the skies and soars"[28]. Tomris Laffly of Variety praised the visuals and the lead performers: "The duo [of Redmayne and Jones] hand-in-hand elevates [The Aeronauts] ... from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen, even if it operates on a handful of clichés with little character-based substance to speak of."[29]

Many critics also applauded film's special effects and visuals. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian noted the film's “terrific special effects” and “high-anxiety suspense.[30] Eric John of Indiewire wrote: “When so many supersized blockbusters take the potential of CGI action for granted, “The Aeronauts” finds a fresh use for it by turning the exhilaration of discovery into a real visual treat.[31]

References

  1. ^ Boland, Hannah (December 31, 2018). "Amazon in talks to release original films in Imax cinemas in 2019". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference RT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Gant, Charles (October 7, 2019). "How Tom Harper ensured the $40m 'The Aeronauts' took flight with Amazon Studios". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. ^ Paur, Joey (August 16, 2018). "Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne Featured in First Photo From Amazon's 'The Aeronauts'". Geek Tyrant. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. ^ McIntosh, Steven (September 9, 2019). "Redmayne and Jones on 'wonderful' screen reunion". BBC. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  6. ^ GALA: The Aeronauts
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (August 15, 2018). "Felicity Jones-Eddie Redmayne Ballooning Pic 'The Aeronauts' Under Way In UK, Amazon Releases Striking First-Look". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  8. ^ Lodderhose, Diana; Fleming Jr., Mike (December 8, 2016). "Amazon Studios Takes Flight With Hot Package 'The Aeronauts'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Pearson, Ben (August 15, 2018). "'The Aeronauts' First Look: Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne Reunite 2,000 Feet in the Sky". /Film. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  10. ^ Heath, Paul (August 15, 2018). "First Look At Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones In Amazon's 'The Aeronauts'". The Hollywood News. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  11. ^ a b O'Byrne, Audrey (August 22, 2018). "U.K. Now Filming: Amazon's Star-Studded 'The Aeronauts'". Backstage. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise; Petski, Denise (May 14, 2019). "'The Aeronauts' Will Have One-Week Imax Run In October". Deadline. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  13. ^ "Two aeronauts break world record for altitude in a balloon 5 September 1862". History. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  14. ^ Malvern, Jack. "Ballooning hero becomes a woman for new Eddie Redmayne film The Aeronauts". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  15. ^ Holmes, Richard (November 21, 2010). "The Royal Society's lost women scientists". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  16. ^ Bodkin, Henry (August 15, 2018). "Ballooning hero 'airbrushed' from history to make way for female character in Eddie Redmayne film". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Stone, Sasha. "The Aeronauts – A Flight of Fancy With a Great Performance by Felicity Jones". Awards Daily.
  18. ^ Scott, Walter (December 21, 2018). "Felicity Jones on Meeting Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Why She Joined Star Wars". Parade. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  19. ^ Winchester, Simon (October 25, 2013). "Book Review: 'Falling Upwards' by Richard Holmes". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  20. ^ Hammond, Pete (August 29, 2019). "Telluride Film Festival: 'Ford V Ferrari', 'Judy', 'Motherless Brooklyn', Weinstein-Inspired Drama 'The Assistant' Among Premieres Headed To 46th Edition – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  21. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (August 13, 2019). "Toronto Adds 'The Aeronauts,' 'Mosul,' 'Seberg,' & More To Festival Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  22. ^ Grater, Tom. "'The Aeronauts' to get full UK theatrical window despite Amazon strategy shift (exclusive)". Screen Daily.
  23. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (July 23, 2019). "Amazon Shifts Release Date & Cuts Theatrical Window For Potential Awards Pic 'The Aeronauts' With Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  24. ^ Hipes, Patrick. "AFI Fest Rounds Out Gala Slate With 'The Aeronauts', 'The Two Popes'; Alan J. Pakula Getting Tribute". Deadline. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  25. ^ "The Aeronauts (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  26. ^ "The Aeronauts". Metacritic. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  27. ^ Todd McCarthy. "'The Aeronauts': Film Review | Telluride 2019". The Hollywood Reporter.
  28. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala. "'The Aeronauts': Review". Screen. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  29. ^ Laffly, Tomris (September 4, 2019). "Telluride Film Review: 'The Aeronauts'". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  30. ^ Bradshaw, Peter. "The Aeronauts review – charming balloon adventure way up where the air is clear". The Guardian.
  31. ^ Kohn, Eric. "'The Aeronauts' Review: 'Gravity' Meets 'Free Solo' in Gripping Hot-Air Balloon Adventure". Indiewire.
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