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The Aeronauts | 2019 | PG-13 | – 1.4.1
Why is “The Aeronauts” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some peril and thematic elements.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a hug and a dancing scene, several scenes of balloon flight with one ending in the death of a man and another with many near-catastrophic consequences, some bloody injuries and several arguments, and some mild language that’s mostly name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”
Inspired by true events and set in 1862: A pilot (Felicity Jones) agrees to helm a balloon that will take her and a meteorologist (Eddie Redmayne) higher than anyone has ever been before. Also with Himesh Patel, Tom Courtenay, Phoebe Fox, Anne Reid, Tim McInnerny and Vincent Perez. Directed by Tom Harper. [Running Time: 1:40]
The Aeronauts SEX/NUDITY 1
– A husband and his wife hug. A woman falls back off a ladder into a man’s arms (on purpose). Men and women dance at a reception. A man tenderly holds a woman’s hand to console her.
► A woman is shown wearing a skirt and corset that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders.
The Aeronauts VIOLENCE/GORE 4
– A woman flashes back to seeing her husband falling from a balloon high in the sky; we see him falling through the clouds (we understand that he died). A balloon collapses and plummets toward the ground: a man and a woman struggle to empty as much weight as they can, the man cuts the basket loose and eventually cuts a rope holding the balloon open creating a parachute and they sail to the ground, crash into trees and the man falls off, and the woman is knocked unconscious and is dragged by her foot on the ground (we see them both with bloody wounds but they survive). A man pours brandy onto a woman’s bloody hands and she whimpers in pain.
► A woman leaves a man in a balloon basket and tells him to, “Stay alive,” as she climbs the outside of the balloon along the ropes to the top to break open a valve; she slips and dangles from her knees for a moment and nearly loses consciousness before continuing to climb to the top where she pounds on the valve and stomps on it with her boot until she loosens it and collapses; she slides down the balloon unconscious, awakens and catches a rope and swings to get back into the basket.
► A man and a woman in a balloon argue about unloading weight to go higher and the man shoves the woman to the floor and pins her, she pushes him away and the man falls (we see his nose bleeding). A woman slaps a man in the face. After floating beyond 23,000 feet, a balloon begins to expand and the seams stretch to their limits; the pilot worries that the balloon will explode. A balloon floats through a thick cloud through thunderclaps and lightning flashes; the balloon is jolted around violently, throwing a man inside the basket on the floor where he hits his head (we see a bloody gash). A balloon in a heavy storm cloud dips drastically and throws a man and a woman out of the basket; they grab onto the ring above the basket and flail in the wind, the woman dangles from a rope outside the balloon and the man ties himself to a rope and helps her back in safely. A woman frantically unloads weight from a balloon in order to float above storm clouds. A woman struggles to open a valve on a balloon to relieve pressure on the fabric but it is frozen closed.
► A woman has several flashbacks to a time when she was in a balloon high in the sky as a crisis occurred and she and her husband were unable to steady the balloon without reducing weight. A man places a message on a carrier pigeon and drops it over the side of a balloon basket; the bird drops like a stone (it is dead from the altitude and temperature) and the man finds another bird already dead and drops it over the side. A woman visits her husband’s grave in a cemetery.
► Two men argue about weather conditions and whether or not one of the men should risk flying. A newspaper headline reads that a man died during a balloon expedition. A man and a woman argue about flying a balloon and how high to fly in several scenes. A man argues in front of a group of men about the pursuit of weather prediction and its value for saving lives. Two women argue about one of them flying in a balloon and taking risks. A woman tells a man, “Stop frowning at me.” A man remarks about another man, “Pinning butterflies to a board.” A man is dismissive about his son’s dreams and seems to be embarrassed by newspaper articles about him. A woman tries to convince her sister to come to a reception with her and says, “Then I’ll let you rot.” We hear that a woman’s husband has been dead for two years. A woman is described as “The woman that provokes fear.” A woman is offended when a man refers to her as “Widow Rennes.” A woman tells a man, “I must abandon you” and will not pilot a balloon for him; the man grabs her arm and they argue briefly. People discuss risks of high flying including frostbite and the effects of lack of oxygen on the brain. After regaining consciousness a man says to a woman, “I think I lost my head.”
► Several men are alarmed by a woman walking through the outer hallways of a building and one man tells her to wait outside while they find the man she is looking for (she does not). A man seemingly suffering from dementia does not recognize his adult son.
► Two men climb onto the roof of a building while one tries to talk the other out of doing so. A woman drops a dog over the side of a balloon after it lifts off and a man in the balloon panics until a parachute opens and the dog sets down on the ground safely. A woman rides on top of a carriage and around an arena, grabs onto a rope and swings to a platform where she does some acrobatics and calls to a crowd gathered to watch her pilot a balloon. A man has several carrier pigeons loaded in a box on a balloon and uses them to send readings to the ground from a balloon. A man and a woman yell gleefully while floating in a balloon.
► We see the effects of frostbite on a man and a woman; their fingers become swollen and reddened, they have sores on their cheeks and reddened skin and frost on their hair and eyelashes. A woman spits on the ground after rushing out of a carriage; she appears to feel sick (we see saliva) and she sits on the sidewalk breathing heavily. A woman is found sleeping on the floor of her home and appears to have been drinking. A woman’s nose runs and we see mucus.
The Aeronauts LANGUAGE 1
– 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (old man, sour, absurd, selfish, presumptuous, ridiculous, coachman for hire, foolishness, wanderer, weather sleuth, insufferable), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. Godspeed, Oh For God’s Sake, Pray For Silence). | profanity glossary |
The Aeronauts SUBSTANCE USE
– A woman pours a glass of liquor and another woman takes it from her, and a bottle of liquor is shown on a table near a woman that’s asleep on the floor (she apparently had been drinking).
The Aeronauts DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Balloon flight, discoveries, scientific advancement, gender roles, doubt, fear, studying rather than practicing, Isaac Newton, death of a loved one, dementia, setting records, reputation, changing the world, responsibility, bravery, natural disasters, grief, self-pity, studying the stars, science, advancement of knowledge, obligation, realizing one’s worth.
The Aeronauts MESSAGE
– You don’t change the world by looking at it but by how you choose to live in it.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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