Telluride Film Festival 2019: Starring alongside Eddie Redmayne, Jones plays a woman who is up for anything and ready to, as she says, ”find her seat at the table“
Tom Harper’s “The Aeronauts” serves an important purpose as an aspirational film for young girls who either love science, or whose parents hope they see the movie and understand that women can be just as excited about taking a hero’s journey as any man.
Felicity Jones plays Amelia Wren, a character based loosely on real life aeronaut Sophie Blanchard, who was well-known for embarking on elaborate balloon flights back in the 1800s. Jones teams up with her Oscar winning co-star from “The Theory of Everything,” Eddie Redmayne, who plays James Glaisher, a scientist interested in learning how to predict the weather. He needs to go up in a balloon, she is the best person for the job, and thus begins their adventure.
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Jones and Redmayne have so much genuine chemistry that one might think this is going to be a love story, but it deliberately isn’t. This is a film about comrades who take flight, endanger their lives and break records. The only passion is their shared passion for exploration. It is an interesting exercise, however, to leave all that good chemistry hanging literally in midair.
The best thing about “The Aeronauts” is how it looks. The production design by David Hindle and Christian Huband is exquisite. Alexandra Byrne’s costumes are lush and brightly colored. The balloon itself is magnificent, as are the vistas and cinematography by George Steele. It is a feast for the eyes from beginning to end, and functions much like a modern-day, live-action fairy tale that celebrates women who once dared to get lifted into the upper atmosphere at a time when they weren’t even allowed to vote.
Redmayne is as good as he always is, but Jones takes it to a higher level as Wren. She, apparently, did much of her own stunt work, including actually riding in dangerous floating hydrogen balloons instead of the less flammable hot air balloons of today. She plays a woman who is up for anything, as smart as her male counterpart, physically and mentally fit to, as she says, “find her seat at the table.”
Also Read: Oscar Race Begins: Fall Festivals Bring Moment of Truth for 'Joker,' 'Jojo Rabbit' and Many More
Even though other women were flying in balloons long before the dawn of atmospheric science, it is still a worthy effort to show more women scientists on film accomplishing astonishing things that most might have never expected to do in real life. It is meant to be a film that inspires young girls and nudges the perspectives of young boys; it soars in the realm of fantasy but is grounded in reality.
If boys can dream of doing great, impossible things — well, so too can girls.
10 Films Directed by Women to Check Out This Fall, From 'Frozen 2' to 'Little Women' (Photos)
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After years of criticism over the lack of gender diversity among directors in Hollywood, studios are finally starting to hire more women. 2019 is the first year that all major studios are releasing at least one film directed by a woman, and this fall's slate has plenty of women contributing movies, from animated blockbusters to potential Oscar contenders. Here are 10 to look out for.
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STXLorene Scafaria - “Hustlers” (Sept. 13)
The writer of “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” will direct this crime dramedy for STX based on Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores.” The film features a cast led by Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez in a true story about a team of strippers who seduced and stole from Wall Street’s elite after the 2008 recession.
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DreamWorks Animation
Jill Culton - “Abominable” (Sept. 27)
September usually has an animated feature on the release slate, and this year’s offering comes from DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio with Jill Culton’s tale about a Shanghai girl who goes on an adventure to help a Yeti return to Everest. Culton, who directed “Open Season” for Sony, left and returned to “Abominable” during its development.
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Focus Features
Kasi Lemmons - “Harriet” (Nov. 1)
Every weekend in November will have a film made by a woman hitting theaters, starting with Focus Features’ biopic starring Cynthia Erivo as the famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Kasi Lemmons, who directed Samuel L. Jackson in “Eve’s Bayou,” is working here with a cast that includes Janelle Monae and “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr.
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Amazon Studios
Alma Har’el - “Honey Boy” (Nov. 8)
Next is a film that left Sundance utterly speechless. Alma Har’el, a longtime commercial director who has fought bias in the ad industry, directs longtime collaborator Shia LaBoeuf in “Honey Boy,” a film written by LaBoeuf as an unflinching examination of his life as a child actor. LaBoeuf stars as a character based on his abusive father.
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Sony
Elizabeth Banks - “Charlie’s Angels” (Nov. 15)
Having previously directed “Pitch Perfect 2,” Elizabeth Banks is bringing “Charlie’s Angels” back to the big screen, and also starring as this incarnation's Bosley to a new team of Angels (Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska) in a Townsend Agency that has expanded worldwide.
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Sony
Marielle Heller - “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (Nov. 22)
November 22 will be the big weekend. Marielle Heller, who last year directed Melissa McCarthy to an Oscar nomination in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, helms this biopic based on the friendship between writer Tom Junod and Mister Rogers, played by Tom Hanks.
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Disney
Jennifer Lee - “Frozen II” (Nov. 22)
On the same weekend, Jennifer Lee will team up once again with Chris Buck to bring Anna and Elsa back to the big screen. “Frozen” catapulted Jennifer Lee into the top tier of animators, and last year she was named the new creative head of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
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Universal
Melina Matsoukas - “Queen & Slim” (Nov. 29)
But while “Frozen II” will be a family delight, Melina Matsoukas will be bringing something much darker. Written by Lena Waithe, “Queen & Slim” stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple who must go on the run after they shoot a police officer during a traffic stop gone wrong.
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NEON
Chinonye Chukwu - “Clemency” (Dec. 27)
Alfre Woodard stars in this year’s Sundance U.S. Dramatic Jury Award winner that also looks like a strong awards season contender. Director Chukwu became the first black woman to win that prize with this tale about a prison warden who oversees inmates on death row. .
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Sony
Greta Gerwig - “Little Women” (Dec. 25)
Another likely awards season contender from Gerwig, still riding high from her “Lady Bird” Best Director nomination, this is the eighth feature adaption of the Alcott literary classic. The murderer’s row of a cast includes: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Meryl Streep and Timothée Chalamet. Get ready for this one to be talked about for months.
From Heller to Gerwig and beyond, the opportunities for female filmmakers to shine are growing
After years of criticism over the lack of gender diversity among directors in Hollywood, studios are finally starting to hire more women. 2019 is the first year that all major studios are releasing at least one film directed by a woman, and this fall's slate has plenty of women contributing movies, from animated blockbusters to potential Oscar contenders. Here are 10 to look out for.
Sasha Stone