‘The Aeronauts’ Is Simply Gorgeous

by Julian Zimianitis

“The Aeronauts” is a beautiful movie on Amazon Prime Video, starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne, that was released in 2019. If you haven’t heard of it, don’t be surprised. I’ve seen no advertising for it anywhere, and it seems to have passed over almost everyone, which is a pity, because it’s a great movie I highly recommend.

The movie, which is based on real events, follows James Glaisher and Amelia Wren as they attempt to fly higher than anyone before them in a hot air balloon. Along the way they will have to overcome many obstacles to break the limits and come back alive.

I won’t say much more right now, because that’s the basic gist of the plot, and any more details would ruin the viewing experience. On a related note, don’t watch the trailer if you plan on watching the movie. It spoils several of the climactic moments, and ruins some of the masterful suspense.

Now, what was so great about “The Aeronauts”? To start, the visuals. I don’t know how they pulled off some of the shots, but whatever magic the crew used to film the scenes, they’re breathtaking. Long panoramic scenes of clouds and the sky are truly stunning.  

On top of that, the two leads have amazing chemistry together, and played each other really well. And while Jones and Redmayne were the stars of the show, the side characters were also very good, and brought the world to life. 

Now, it wasn’t perfect. The suspense was great, but the plot itself was pretty simple, and the flashbacks into the past, while interesting, failed to captivate me from a tension standpoint, since the obstacles in the past were shown to have been bypassed by the time we got to the present.

But, those minor imperfections didn’t ruin the experience for me, and the incredible acting more than made up for the somewhat lacking plot. The costume and set design was also marvelous, with bright colors and flowing dresses being commonplace, it was lovely to behold.

“The Aeronauts” drew me into the 19th century, pulled me into this wonderful time of scientific discovery, and never broke my immersion. It was like stepping back in time and watching these events unfold for myself.

Now, I will happily admit that I am biased saying this, since I love the aesthetic of 1800s England, but I truly believe that this is a movie everyone should watch. This is a cinematic masterpiece well worth the hour and a half watchtime.

The small imperfections of this film don’t do anything to ruin the fantastic viewing experience I highly recommend to everybody reading this article. Trust me, you will almost certainly love it.