(wind whistling)
(Amelia breathes softly)
MAN: How bad is the tear?!
-(Amelia panting) -(wind rushing)
MAN: We need to lose more weight!
(Amelia panting faster)
(wind howling)
-Stop the carriage! -(pounding on roof)
(hoofbeats stop)
-(horse neighing) -(Amelia panting)
ANTONIA: Amelia?
Are you quite well?
You don’t need to fly today.
You can return to Richmond with me.
Antonia, I just need a moment.
After all you’ve been through, no one will think worse of you.
I would.
I would think worse of me.
I have an agreement with Mr. Glaisher.
You barely know the man,
and the little you do, you’re irritated by.
Antonia, please, I...
just need a moment.
One last piece of sisterly advice.
Doubt is there to be listened to.
(footsteps running)
(gasps)
(panting)
(chuckles softly)
-(lively chatter) -(bell dinging)
(train chugging)
(train whistle blows)
MAN: Come and get your tickets!
MAN: Amelia Wren! How high will she go?!
WOMAN: And afterwards, I’ve got to take you straight to...
(chatter continues)
MAN: Amelia Wren!
WOMAN: Well, I read all about it...
(chatter continues)
-(women gasp, murmur) -(horse sputters)
(horse neighing)
MAN: Hey, you! Get out of the road!
MAN: Come on. Move along.
(birds chirping)
(horse neighing)
(grunting)
(excited chatter nearby)
(excited chatter)
-(kids shrieking, laughing) -(bell clanging)
(camel grunting)
(chatter continues)
(flashbulb pops)
-(steady ticking) -JAMES: She’s late.
She is, but that’s the least of your concerns.
JAMES: We’ll lose the light, John.
JOHN: James, do the clouds not look ominous to you?
JAMES: I repeatedly explained to Miss Wren
the importance of catching the right light
and the right wind at the right time,
-and she’s just openly ignored me. -James, look up.
It’s not a concern, John.
The readings I took this morning were quite clear.
Far be it from me to doubt you, James,
but your weather predictions have been wrong in the past,
and it’s just possible that you’ve missed...
NED: Don’t even think of it.
Ah.
JAMES: Ned Chambers,
John Trew, my very good friend.
John, this is Ned, one of the hardy entrepreneurs
who’s invested in our expedition.
Do not even think of telling me flight is not possible.
Mr. Chambers, we are scientists of the air, and we can tell you
the one thing no one can control is, well, the air.
NED: I have paid for gas. I have paid for silk.
And is this balloon not the strongest
and largest that’s ever been?
Even so, it can’t fight the weather.
You don’t want to be responsible for a tragedy, sir.
I don’t wish to be responsible for refunding the 10,000
that came here because you promised them history.
We’ll fly, Ned. We’ll fly.
I only need the sky to hold for 90 minutes,
and once we’re above the cloud line, we’ll be fine.
Good. That’s fixed, then.
Now, did you not promise me a 5:00 ascent?
I’m set.
I’m merely waiting for our pilot.
And it’s not the first time Miss Wren has kept me waiting.
(chuckles)
JOHN: What a truly pleasant man.
One must make compromises in order to achieve greatness,
-my friend. -(crowd cheering)
-And he... -(horse neighing)
is merely one compromise.
(Amelia whooping)
(crowd shouting, cheering)
AMELIA: Hello, everybody, and welcome!
(excited chatter)
MAN: Welcome back, Amelia!
AMELIA: Are you ready?
(whooping)
-(crowd cheering) -WOMAN: Amelia!
(whoops)
(crowd cheering)
You’re incredibly late.
Lesson number one of aeronauting:
We are creatures of the skies
and have no respect for landlocked clocks.
(loudly): Mr. Glaisher, are you really not a gentleman at all?
-(crowd laughs) -Hold out your hand to me.
(crowd murmuring)
-Go on, Glaisher! -Go on! -Take her hand!
WOMAN: Look like you’ve never seen a woman before!
-Don’t keep a lady waiting! -Come on, Mr. Glaisher!
MAN: Take her hand!
WOMAN: Take her hand, Mr. Glaisher!
(crowd cheering)
(Amelia gasps)
You’re naughty! (chuckles)
Are you ready?
Mr. Glaisher, you have no conception of how ready I am.
(whoops)
(crowd gasping, cheering)
(whistles)
AMELIA: Posey!
-Good dog. -(Posey yapping)
-(crowd cheering) -MAN: She’s got a dog!
-(crowd aahing) -Posey.
JAMES: No, no, no.
No, absolutely not.
Under no circumstances are we taking a dog.
I told you we’d have to play to the crowd,
and they prefer my dog to your boxes.
Those are essential meteorological instruments.
-And this is an essential dog. -(barks)
(gasps)
-She’s called Posey. -(growls)
(loudly): The essential...
-Posey! -(crowd cheering)
(Posey whines softly)
Go on. In you go.
-Excuse me. -(James grunts)
AMELIA: Ladies and gentlemen,
today, myself-- Amelia Wren--
my naughty scientist, Mr. Glaisher...
-(laughter) -and my wonder dog Posey
are going to change the world.
Are you ready for us to do so?
(crowd cheering)
This balloon on which I stand--
the Mammoth-- is a balloon like no other,
and will allow us to ascend higher into the air
than any man or woman has ever gone.
(crowd cheering)
The French rose to 23,000 feet.
Today, we will break that record
and reclaim it for these fair shores!
(crowd cheering)
Who knows?
We may reach the Moon
and bring back...
-stardust! -(crowd cheering)
Today is a day when history will be made,
and you will all be a part of it.
(crowd cheering)
Mr. Glaisher, now is your moment.
Up you get.
(crowd cheering)
(fireworks whooshing, popping)
Fireworks?
Are you ready?
Yes. I just need to retake my ground readings
and then do one final check of the equipment.
Well, my equipment
-was all prepared in advance. -(air hisses)
Now, don’t touch this rope, Mr. Glaisher,
’cause it will let out the gas.
I do know how a balloon works.
Uh, what are you doing?
AMELIA: We fly.
-The sky awaits. -Wait, no.
These ground readings are essential.
(voice fading): If they’re not accurate...
(crowd shouting, cheering)
Godspeed, old man.
AMELIA: Goodbye!
(laughs)
(crowd shouting, cheering)
(Posey barking)
-What are you doing? -Giving the people their money’s worth.
W-Will that not damage the integrity of the balloon?
Perhaps.
Goodbye!
JAMES: For God’s sake.
AMELIA: Goodbye!
This is absurd.
It’s what they call entertainment, Mr. Glaisher.
Well, I’m not finding it particularly entertaining.
It requires a... a sense of humor,
which you seem to lack.
-(whoops) -(James shouts)
(crowd gasping, chattering excitedly)
JAMES: This is ridiculous.
AMELIA: Don’t be so sour.
Give me the dog.
What do you mean, give you the dog?
-Pass me Posey, Mr. Glaisher. -I’m not giving you the dog.
Mr. Glaisher, the dog. Now.
-(Posey barking) -Goodbye!
(James muttering)
(excited chatter, shouting)
-(Posey barks) -Quick.
-Come on! -What, you just want me to...
-what, just pass her to you? -Pass her up.
-Yes, pass her up. -All right.
-Come on, Posey. Come on. -All right.
-(Amelia whoops) -(Posey yelps) -JAMES: No, don’t!
(crowd gasping)
-(crowd cheering) -MAN: Did you see that?
(laughter)
(laughs) Well done, Posey.
-(barks) -(Ned whistles)
NED: Come on, Posey. Come on, girl. (chuckles)
(Posey whimpers)
MAN: There he is. Ah!
Mr. Glaisher, you are airborne
for the first time in your life.
I suggest you spend less time frowning at me and...
more taking in this beautiful world we’ve just left.
(ropes creaking)
(breath trembles)
AMELIA: Quite something, isn’t she?
London.
(steady ticking)
(wind whistling)
It all looks so...
Insignificant?
Do you take anything seriously, Miss Wren?
Some things.
That crowd gathered to witness us break the height record.
They didn’t need to see a flying dog.
Mm. Still stuck there, are you? (chuckles)
I’ve spent much of my life
being laughed at for what I do, Miss Wren.
I’d rather hope that today might prove an exception.
Tell me, what determines your reputation?
My reputation?
Yes, your standing in the scientific community.
The papers I’ve written, the discoveries I’ve uncovered.
Your reputation is built on paper,
and my reputation is built on screams.
And those people below, they came to be entertained.
And they, if you didn’t know,
are the ones paying for this trip.
You off to the opera?
(objects clanking softly)
I’ve been looking at the same thing.
Don’t tell me that cloud isn’t a cause for concern.
I’m the scientist; you’re the pilot.
Let’s stick to our roles, shall we?
(bell tolling in distance)
JOHN: James!
-James! -Come on, John. -(bell tolling)
-I’ll not miss the takeoff. -It’s in the air.
We could have stayed on the ground and looked up.
We must see it from the best vantage point, Johnny.
-JOHN: For God’s sake. -(horse neighing)
(John panting)
JAMES: Sky’s clear, so I predict a clean takeoff,
which means that in precisely 24 seconds we should see it.
JOHN: (exhales) You are aware
he might not make it off the ground?
JAMES: Charles Green will make it off the ground.
JOHN: Maybe not quite so close to the edge of the building.
Listen, John, will you stop scowling at me?
-Sc... -Do I count the hours that I spend
helping you pin butterflies to a board?
(chuckles) Pinning butterflies is not a dangerous pursuit.
-(watch ticking) -Five, four,
three, two,
-one. -(ticking stops)
-(birds chirping) -(seagulls calling in distance)
JOHN: Could be anything.
The gas valve ruptured. The silk tore.
(bird screeching)
(chuckles)
He’s rethought the balloon shape.
It’s wider at the top, like a parachute.
That’s very clever.
JOHN: May I look?
Yes, you may. Here.
(dog barking in distance)
John.
If you’ve had time enough...
You’ll get your chance, you know.
They’ll realize your worth.
I think they know my worth quite well enough.
-(men clamoring) -JAMES: Gentlemen! Gentlemen!
We-we know more now about this world around us
than at any moment in our history.
And yet, still, still, we are limited
by our ignorance as to what is truly above us.
Now, with the progress that we have made in balloon ascent
here at the Society, pioneered by Charles Green,
we could advance meteorology by decades.
Analysis of the Earth’s magnetic field,
the solar spectrum, knowledge of the dew point,
understanding of oxygenation of the atmosphere,
-atmospheric... -He wants my balloon!
-(laughter) -No, sir.
No, sir, I ask for funding for my own expedition
-into the skies. -(others murmuring, gasping)
By gathering enough data,
I believe that we will be able to uncover patterns
-and correlations that... -Sir,
we are scientists, not fortune tellers.
You’re talking about weather prediction.
But is that not our responsibility as scientists,
to find order in chaos, gentlemen?
Please, if we could understand the sky above us...
You are no closer to predicting the movements of the weather
-than the movements of a frog in a jar. -(laughter)
JAMES: If we could understand the skies
-above us, gentlemen... -(clapping, lively chatter)
Gentlemen, we...
-You’re delusional, my friend. -With your financial support,
we are on the precipice of extraordinary change.
The possibility of advanced weather prediction could--
-it could save lives. -(chatter continues)
Gentlemen. Gent... Gentlemen, please!
MAN: We have to sit through this?
Please!
ARTHUR: "James Glaisher spoke again
"this week at the Royal Society
of his plans to make a science of the weather."
In-in The Times. You read it?
JAMES: Yes, I’ve read it, Pa.
"To the accompaniment of much laughter."
-Oh, Arthur, please stop. -They’re wrong, by the way.
Well, many more thought you were.
Well, many didn’t believe in Newton.
Newton? Oh, James.
Newton changed the way we see the Earth
and the planets and the stars.
You think you can predict...
when it might rain.
(clocks and watches ticking)
Th-These things that people are saying about you, James,
don’t-don’t... don’t they hurt?
I wish it didn’t hurt you.
-(lively chatter) -(bell dinging)
(horse neighing)
JAMES: Time:
-nine minutes and 23 seconds. -(steady ticking)
Altitude is 5,400 feet.
And air temperature is 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
AMELIA: Delightful. Could you...?
-What? -Just-just at the top.
Yeah.
You should put on your oilskins, Mr. Glaisher.
(objects clinking softly)
-(pigeon cooing) -JAMES: All right.
Out you come.
AMELIA: What are you attaching to those pigeons?
JAMES: Our readings.
Oh. I see.
Reassuring to know you’ve contemplated our deaths.
I’ve just insured against them, should we not make it back.
(wind whooshing softly)
AMELIA: Cloud ahoy.
(chuckles softly)
(chuckles)
(laughs)
"What more felicitie can fall to creature
"Than to enjoy delight...
-with libertie..." -PIERRE: "With libertie,
And to be lord of all the workes of Nature."
BOTH: "To raine in th’ aire from earth..."
PIERRE: "...to the highest skie,
To feed on flowres and weeds of glorious feature."
JAMES and PIERRE: "To take what ever thing
doth please the eie?"
Spenser.
"The Fate of the Butterflie."
It’s one of my favorite poems.
Surprising.
I didn’t have you down as a literary man.
Men of science, uh, can enjoy words, Miss Wren.
My husband loved that poem.
I would have liked to have met your husband.
I’m not sure he’d have liked you.
(chuckles): Really?
He disliked people who studied rather than practiced.
(thunder rumbling in distance)
Are we still sure this weather will hold?
Because my instinct is telling me...
Instinct has no place in weather prediction.
You’re lying to me.
Every reading that I took this morning
was quite clear, Miss Wren.
There are no advantages in concealing concerns.
We are trapped here no matter what you say.
This pressure is changing faster than I’d anticipated.
(wind whistling)
We’re about to get wet.
(watch ticking)
(thunder crashes)
(muttering quietly)
(wind whistling)
(basket rattling, creaking)
(gasps, chuckles softly)
And so it begins.
(thunder rumbling)
I’m not sure your instruments are much use to us now.
We need to batten down,
so please put on your wet weather clothing.
There are no prizes for obstinacy.
-James. -(thunder crashes)
If you won’t listen to me, listen to that.
But not one of my readings suggested a storm.
Well, that’s what it is, and we’re inside a cumulo,
which is precisely where we shouldn’t be.
Don’t worry.
She’s not made of conductive material,
so we won’t attract lightning.
And if we are struck,
the gas will explode, so we won’t live long enough
for me to point out... (screams)
(wind howling)
Hold on!
(both yell)
Get that equipment put away now!
These instruments will give us... (grunts)
(basket rattling, creaking)
(grunts)
Stay still and keep calm.
I need to get us out of this.
(yelps, grunts)
-(thunder crashes) -(grunting): No! No!
We cannot descend!
This might be our one and only opportunity.
-Of course we don’t descend. -We don’t?
There are two ways to break a storm.
One is to travel beneath it, the other above it.
The safest way is up. (grunts)
The safest way is up?
Who did you think you got in a balloon with?
(both screaming)
(shouting)
(both scream)
(thunder crashing)
(yelling, grunting)
(gasps) Amelia!
-Amelia! Amelia! -(Amelia screaming)
-Give me your hand! -(yells)
-(rope snapping) -(both yell)
(grunts)
(thunder booming)
Hold on!
(yells)
Hold on!
(Amelia yells)
Take my hand! Take my hand!
One!
Two!
Three!
(both grunting)
(both yell)
-(Amelia gasping) -(thunder crashing)
-You all right? -Yes.
(gasping, grunting)
(wind howling)
Hold on!
It’s not over yet.
(both screaming)
(metallic rattling)
(gasping)
(storm quiets)
(ropes creaking gently)
(both panting)
(grunting quietly)
(Amelia grunts)
(panting)
(James chuckles)
(panting)
A lucky escape.
Or a brilliant one.
-(crowd chattering) -(children squealing playfully)
(bell clanging in distance)
(crowd chatter continues)
May I look through your spyglass, sir?
There’s nothing to see.
I lost them when the storm passed over.
I would like a look all the same, sir.
I won’t steal it.
I didn’t presume you would.
You have an interest in the air?
Don’t you wish to be up there with them?
No, I’d be an unnecessary weight.
All the same.
Some reach for the stars.
Some push others towards them.
-(bell dings) -(crowd cheers in distance)
I wish I was up there.
You’re not afraid of the clouds?
Clouds are just water.
Oh.
And what of the birds that may attack you?
May I look through your spyglass?
(chuckles softly)
-(bell dings) -(crowd cheers in distance)
I can see them, sir.
Not possible.
I-I can see them, sir. I can.
(laughs)
(steady ticking)
(James grunting)
JAMES: That’s my entire body weight.
-(Amelia grunting) -You all right?
There we go.
Now, that should hold.
I hope.
Looks pretty precarious to me.
She’s stronger than she looks.
Right.
(box thumps, slides)
James.
James, you’ll miss it.
JAMES: That’s an aureole.
Have you seen one of those before?
AMELIA: You haven’t?
JAMES: I have in books.
I believe you should be checking your instruments.
You can’t have taken a good reading in quite some time.
(chuckles softly)
You so enjoy being amused by me, don’t you?
I’m amused by your enjoyment
of something that has nothing to do with numbers.
Have you noticed it’s completely silent?
Hello...!
(chuckles)
(inhales sharply)
(yelling)
(chuckles)
(yelling)
(Amelia chuckles)
(both yelling)
(James yelling in distance)
(Amelia yelling)
Cloud ahoy...!
(bells tolling in distance)
Can you hear that?
It’s a bell.
-(bells continue tolling) -(crowd chattering in distance)
-That’s bells. -(chuckles)
-Where is that coming from? -(horse neighing)
-(hoofbeats clopping) -That’s horses.
So the humid conditions must be conducting the sound.
-We have... -That’s the sound of the street.
...flown through a storm, and still London follows us.
This high barometer reading’s phenomenal.
PIERRE (echoing): Amelia. Regarde-moi.
(grunting)
PIERRE: Amelia. Amelia!
(Pierre’s voice overlapping, speaking French)
Amelia, regarde-moi!
Amelia!
-(thud) -Amelia, this...
Amelia, what’s the matter?
Are you all right?
It’ll soon pass.
(wind whistling)
(knocking)
(Posey whining)
(knocking)
(grunts)
(door opens)
I didn’t lock it.
No, you did not.
-(door closes) -You’re not dressed.
Yet I’m wearing clothes.
And when was the last time you changed them?
So you break down my door to tell me to wash?
When was the last time you opened any curtains?
Sunlight ages.
I want my furnishings to retain their glow.
Which ones are glowing?
The ones, uh, with your food upon them
or the ones that are covered in your-your dirty clothing?
I do not need to see it to know it’s there.
Well, as much as you might enjoy your self-pity,
I’m not here to freshen anything.
Phillip has invited us
-to a small gathering. -Oh, no, no, no, no. No.
-(sniffs) -(Amelia grunts)
Amelia.
(sighs) I do so hate how you say my name.
It’s like a priest imploring me to confess my sins.
It’s been two years.
Do you really think Pierre would have wanted this?
(sets bottle down)
That is beneath even you.
I’ll help you change.
Come.
Sisters together.
And then I’ll let you rot.
Mm-hmm.
(classical music playing)
-(laughter, quiet chatter) -(classical music continues)
WOMAN: So much easier to claim so
with handsome men on one’s arm.
-Yes, uh, certainly. Yes. -(laughs)
Oh, please.
Mother always taught me,
why have one man when you can have two?
-Please. -Oh. Be a pleasure to.
-Will you excuse me? -Bonny.
Come on, then.
(chatter continues)
Your sister’s proud as punch she’s pulled you here.
Hello, Auntie.
She keeps trying to persuade men to take you onto the floor.
AMELIA: And they refuse her?
FRANCES: I think they’re intimidated by you.
AMELIA: How exciting.
Still, hard to be the woman that provokes fear.
Are you the Widow Wren?
I dislike that title.
But you are Miss Wren?
Amelia Wren.
And who might you be?
Glaisher. James Glaisher.
It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Glaisher.
Wh-What brings you here?
-Here? -Yeah.
The, uh... the selfish needs of a sister.
You?
The mercenary needs of a friend.
Uh, he needed accompanying in his romance.
She’s apparently worth thousands of pounds a year,
so I’m trapped here, just as you are.
Well, we needn’t trap each other.
Miss Wren, sorry, I’m a, I’m a sc-scientist,
an astronomer and a meteorologist, and I...
A scientist, an astronomer and a what?
I believe that the weather can be predicted.
(woman laughing)
Miss Wren, I need to make studies of the air,
and I need to be in the air.
And I need you to help me.
Do you even have a balloon?
Not yet, no.
-I don’t. -So you make an invitation to me,
when it is I who should be inviting you?
No, I need us... I need you to fly us higher
than any man or any woman has ever been. What?
(Antonia speaking indistinctly)
Dance with me.
Dance with you?
Dance with me, and we may converse more.
Amelia. Um... Oh.
(waltz music playing)
I presume there’s a game you’re playing here
with others in the room.
You think I’m trying to make another jealous?
You’re not that handsome.
Every man in this room is petrified
to be seen talking to you, let alone dancing with you.
No, I imagine your game is with another.
-You’re clever. -I’m observant.
Or presumptuous.
And there are certain things, if I may,
that I feel safe in presuming about you.
Perhaps that you don’t have
an invitation for tonight’s events.
Would that be a fair presumption?
On what basis do you make that assumption?
Your suit is two years out of fashion,
your shoes abominable,
your dancing ridiculous-- I’m leading, you are not--
and because this gentleman
clearly doesn’t know you at all.
Oh. (giggles)
AMELIA: Thank you for the dance.
JAMES: I didn’t realize that appearances
were so important to you, and I’m sorry
that I don’t live up to this society standard.
I don’t care what shoes you wear.
I care that you’re lying to me.
It’ll be your balloon.
All I ask is to be given the freedom
to undertake my experiments.
I’m not a coachman for hire.
Good, because I’m looking for a fellow scientist.
To understand the weather, Miss Wren, is to understand
how to make ships and sailors safer,
farms more productive,
so we can prepare ourselves and our world for floods,
for droughts, famines.
We could save thousands of lives.
I want to rewrite the rules of the air, Miss Wren.
And I need your help.
So, will you...
...help me?
-(hammering) -(machines clacking)
AMELIA: Yeah, this seems much more...
ANTONIA: You’re punishing me!
I’m not sure a factory full of flammable gases
is the safest place for children.
You’re punishing me for dragging you
to that ridiculous evening.
No, I am grateful to you for dragging me
to that ridiculous evening.
I’d not made the acquaintance of Mr. Glaisher otherwise.
-(Antonia scoffs) -Now, girls,
I believe we have some macaroons somewhere.
If that is not proof of you punishing me,
-then I do not know what is. -Not here.
I hated you going up in the air with Pierre,
but why you’d want to go up on your own, I can’t even...
With Mr. Glaisher.
You’re my only sister.
I do not wish to lose you to any more... foolishness.
You’d rather I found a man prepared to marry me
to devote myself to.
I’d rather you found a way to make yourself happy.
You can’t just fly away from your problems.
You have to face them here, on earth, with the rest of us.
Look, Antonia, I am a really good aeronaut,
and I want to use what I’m good at.
Yeah, but you are a highly accomplished woman.
You could be good at so many things.
You could have the most beautiful life in society,
if only you’d try.
And if that isn’t what I want?
Then you have to learn to want it.
Up there,
it’s where I have found the greatest happiness.
(Antonia scoffs)
He was the happiness, not the damn balloon.
Come on, girls. We’re going to be late for lunch.
(ropes creaking softly)
JAMES: So, have you been this high before?
AMELIA: Only once.
With Pierre?
We have time enough.
Why don’t you tell me about him?
Ashamed as I am to not stick
to your conversational schedule,
I have nothing to tell.
-Does your head not hurt? -No.
I can’t feel it. Sorry, I’m...
I didn’t mean to...
What happened to you,
I didn’t mean to make light of it.
(James groans quietly)
It will heal.
You won’t have a scar.
(Amelia gasps softly)
At this height?
Look. (gasps)
(chuckles)
(James chuckles)
(chuckling): Look.
-(James chuckles) -(Amelia sighs)
-JAMES: He was right. -(chuckles)
The fool was right.
Of all the amazing things.
My friend John-- John Trew-- he made a study of them.
So, he theorized, beyond the birds,
an air current on which only insects travel,
and I never believed him.
And I certainly never thought that we would prove him right.
Careful.
Oh.
There she goes.
JAMES: Where are they heading, do you think?
AMELIA: Perhaps they trust the wind to decide.
He’d have liked these.
Pierre.
My husband was...
the bravest man I knew.
He saw possibilities others could not, but...
...his most enduring quality was a deep...
and true love for the beauty of the world.
Thank you.
Others would have pushed me further.
Thank you... for not.
I cannot quantify what you’ve lost.
No.
You can’t.
(sniffles softly)
Return to your instruments, Mr. Glaisher.
I said return to your instruments.
I shall.
(drawer opens)
(drawer closes)
(quiet chatter)
MAN: Is she lost?
AIRY: Wren, isn’t it?
Amelia Wren?
I’m looking for James Glaisher.
You’re very welcome to wait outside
while we fetch him to you.
You see, we have a policy toward the fairer sex...
Then I’ll find him myself.
Lovely to see you again, Charles.
-JAMES: Time, Johnny? -(watch ticking)
JOHN: 17 seconds.
Come on, James. Imagine you’re hurtling
-towards the ground. -(James scoffs)
Hurry, man. Your equipment’s gonna be destroyed.
JAMES: Yep.
-26 seconds. Well done. -(footsteps approaching)
And you said I couldn’t break 30.
-My senses deserted me. -Miss Wren.
-This is an honor. -I do not wish to abandon you...
-May I give you a tour? -...but I’m afraid I must.
Abandon me?
The build is already under way.
The largest balloon ever on order.
I don’t want to climb inside the balloon, Mr. Glaisher.
I don’t want to climb into a balloon ever again.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no, that is not acceptable.
A vast amount of money has already been spent.
I’m sorry, sir.
I have made my decision.
(clocks and watches ticking)
-(bell jingling) -(hoofbeats clopping outside)
Evening, Ma.
ETHEL: The wanderer returns.
-You were due last week. -Yes, I know I was.
Sorry. I’ve been, uh... I’ve been having some...
Yes, we’ve been reading all about you in the newspapers.
Of all the people, James.
Women don’t belong in balloons, on show.
And she makes such a show of herself.
Your reputation risks ruin.
Well, you’ll be pleased to hear, Ma,
that the expedition’s off.
It was Miss Wren who wouldn’t risk flight with me.
Is he upstairs?
James, his mind’s been playing tricks on him again.
It’s got worse?
It comes and goes.
Tread carefully with him.
Hard at it?
-Ethel! Ethel! -Oh, Pa, Pa, it’s me.
-It’s James. -Ethel!
Listen, Ma knows I’m here. It’s James.
I’m your son.
You’re-- M-My son’s only ten years old.
I got older.
Now, what have you been... what have you been looking at here?
Oh, get away from that.
Pallas? You’ve been looking at Pallas?
Course I’m looking at Pallas.
Good spotting.
-Here. -Do not pretend
that you can see anything through those.
These are the glasses I taught you to stargaze through.
They’re quite sufficient for some work.
Your trip.
You’re going on a trip.
In a balloon.
Yes, I’m trying to, Pa.
Yeah.
To see the stars.
I hope so.
I used to dream of taking my bedsheet,
catching a gust of wind
and dancing in a parachute among the stars.
I know you did. You told me.
Mm. Nothing...
nothing m-more mysterious, nor more beautiful,
than the stars in the sky.
ARTHUR: Mm.
Wh-What are you doing in here?
Y-You know the rules.
Not in my room.
-I-I... -And keep away from that spyglass.
It’s very valuable, James.
I know it is, Pa. I bought it for you.
-He’s tired. -Oh.
Probably best not to overdo it.
Thank you, Ethel. Get this lad out of here.
Yes, dear.
Leave it while you’re still on the up.
Good night. I will, um...
I’ll see you next week.
(kisses)
James.
For your trip.
(sniffles) Thank you.
Prove them wrong, James.
Next week.
(door closes)
(footsteps retreating)
Mm.
Mr. Green?
Mr. Green, sir? Sir.
If it isn’t Mr. Glaisher, the weather sleuth.
I believe he prefers to be described
as a meteorologist, Charles.
Of course he does. Well, best of luck with it.
As I’m sure you’re aware, sir,
I’ve not been able to attract the funds,
either from the Royal Society or elsewhere,
that I need to fly.
It is an expensive preoccupation.
I’ve heard that you’re looking
-to make another balloon ascent. -I am.
Well, I would like the opportunity to be your second.
I will prove a willing accomplice, sir.
I have also strong ideas as to how to increase
the hydrogen levels in the coal gas
that I believe might be your unlocking,
and you might finally be able to break that height record.
Have you even been in a balloon?
I’ve studied them extensively.
Do you have any experience of frostbite, low air pressure,
the mind-altering effects of a lack of oxygen to the brain?
How else does one learn but by partaking?
Exactly what I need in a second: a theorist
with no ideas about the true dangers of the air.
Find another madman to get in a balloon with.
Uh, perhaps the French.
Or, better yet, that woman.
Good day.
JAMES: 22,200.
AMELIA: Do you have faith in these thermometers?
22,400.
If so, we’re at 21 degrees, and that is cold.
22,500. Well, you can note that temperature down.
Hmm. You trust me to write in your book?
I am honored. (chuckles)
Have we slowed? Are we not at 22,600?
Oh, so you are interested. (chuckles)
And now we’ve passed 22,600.
-You’re insufferable. -You are excited.
And that is 22,700.
-History will be rewritten. -22,900.
BOTH: 23,000.
We are now higher
than any man or any woman
has ever been.
(James chuckles)
(ropes creaking softly)
Thank you for taking me up in your balloon, Mr. Glaisher.
Thank you for taking me up in your balloon, Miss Wren.
It doesn’t feel different at all, does it?
On the contrary.
This is the moment that
I’ve been waiting for my entire life.
I rather suspect I’ve been waiting for it, too.
JAMES: Right. Now...
(pigeon cooing)
AMELIA: You still think we might not make it back?
I’m just sending a message to Charles Green.
23,900 feet.
We’re rising even more quickly now.
Did you know? Could you tell?
It’s because the air’s thinner.
AMELIA: She’s expanding.
We should think of slowing.
So, the air is aiding our ascent.
(chuckles): Isn’t that outstanding?
AMELIA: Surely, now is the time to put your oilskins on.
Didn’t bring any oilskins. They proved extremely heavy.
I told you that you needed oilskins.
Well, the equipment was essential.
The weight limit was essential.
If I’m to get a little sick returning...
A little sick? You-you carry four thermometers,
you carry this strange box,
but you-you couldn’t bring suitable clothing
-for the cold and the wet? -Keep moving.
Don’t stop. The cold will only catch you if you let it.
We need to go down now.
Wait. No, no, we’re not descending. Not yet.
The best way to break a storm is to travel up.
I quote you, dear lady. Well, maybe the best way
to break a cold is also to travel up.
And which science are you basing that upon?
The science that says, with every layer of air,
we are traveling into an unknown.
So, with every layer of air, we are traveling
-closer to the sun. -I believe we have already accomplished...
So these findings that I am still to discover,
-they could be overwhelming. -You are freezing.
-Please. What have we to lose? -Our lives.
This could be more important than our lives!
Please. I know that you want this as much as I do.
I’m descending.
Stop. (grunting)
No.
So, this balloon has defied
every single thing that we have thrown at it.
This is not about the balloon.
This is not about science.
This is about your war with those who lord it over you.
-And I have fought them, too. -(scoffs)
-This is, this is not... -I...
This is, this is about that.
Look at it.
There’s nothing more beautiful,
nor more mysterious, than the stars in the sky.
And look at us.
We are dancing amongst them.
You wanted that writing on the balloon, Amelia.
"Caelum certe...
-patet, ibimus illi." -"Patet, ibimus illi."
"Surely, the sky lies open.
Let us go that way."
The sky is open.
It is open.
Now, you understand
there will come a time when we go no further?
Yes, I do.
Do you understand
that decision will only be mine?
Yes, I do.
JAMES: Thank you.
Tell me when we land if I deserve your thanks.
(sniffs)
You deserve my thanks.
(bell jingling)
Good evening, Miss Wren.
I’ve made my decision, Mr. Trew.
And I understand that. I just wanted to gift you this book.
AMELIA: These are beautiful.
JOHN: They’re pictures of snowflake formations.
A study of the mathematical possibilities of nature,
a study undertaken by James...
James Glaisher.
He believes the sky can be understood.
Of this I am well aware.
He is, sadly, occasionally wrong.
He predicted it would snow tonight, would you believe.
But more often than not, he finds remarkable truths.
Travel with him, and you will discover this.
-I have. -I’m sorry.
I... I-I clearly told him no.
He should not have sent you to convince me.
He didn’t send me.
He’d consider me a poor persuader.
-I’m here on my own account. -You will not dissuade me
-from my path, Mr. Trew. -James believes
there’s something extraordinary up there.
And so this is an opportunity I should not miss?
You misunderstand me.
It’s not an opportunity but an obligation.
In this life, few are given the chance to change the world.
You’ve been assigned a responsibility, Miss Wren.
You have to meet it.
Enjoy the book, madam.
(door opens, closes)
(wind whistling)
(ropes creaking)
-JAMES: Height? -Height, height.
-Mm. -26,500 feet.
26... And temperature?
And temperature...
-five degrees Fahrenheit. -(quietly): Five.
(James sniffs)
(James sighs)
It’s the strangest thing.
So, the higher that we fly, the lower the humidity.
(Amelia panting)
There’s barely any water vapor here at all.
AMELIA: There is still ice.
(James grunts, sniffs)
These temperatures, they’re unprecedented.
These are freezing ranges that no one would have predicted.
AMELIA: Yeah.
JAMES: And what was that temperature?
AMELIA: Um, five degrees.
JAMES: Five...
(paper rips)
Oh, come on.
(grunts)
(grunts): Right.
-(pigeon cooing) -Out you come.
(grunts, sniffs)
(flapping wings slow and stop)
No concern necessary.
We have another.
We don’t have another.
(grunts)
AMELIA: What are you doing?
-Losing weight. -L-Losing weight?
A mere consequence of the decrease in air pressure.
This-this balloon isn’t safe, James.
And much more severe than I’d anticipated.
James, the-the pressure on the material could lead
-to rips, and at... -The coal gas has expanded, and...
...this altitude, these-these rips could definitely be fatal.
-What are you doing?! -(James muttering)
We can’t lose more weight!
No! (grunts)
Give me the sandbag!
It is time we descend.
I will not stop
because you can’t withstand a little pressure.
(panting)
Don’t you see what’s happening?
(panting)
James, the lack of oxygen is affecting your brain.
We’re going to die unless we descend now.
Your husband risked your life for his own recklessness.
I do the same, but for science.
-(grunts) -You know nothing of my husband’s death.
It is well known that he pushed harder than he should have.
Now imagine that story again,
and imagine this time that I am the pilot...
...that h-he told me to stop,
that I-I was risking the balloon.
PIERRE: How bad is the tear?!
(wind rushing)
(air hissing)
The seams ripped apart.
I... I fought...
too hard for my place at the table.
AMELIA: We’re falling too fast.
PIERRE: We’re going to die here!
We need to lose more weight!
Come on. There must be something. Think. Think.
-Yes. Yes. -Think.
(grunts)
Thank you for giving me somewhere I belonged.
Keep looking up.
No! Pierre! No!
(exhales sharply)
(James exhales)
JAMES: Amelia.
I’m so sorry.
Do not...
be responsible...
for the death of another.
It’s one mistake
you’ll never forgive yourself for.
I’m so sorry.
Really, I am.
Now...
...let’s get this balloon down.
Yes.
I think...
I-I think we’ve...
discovered that oxygen is...
(thud, ropes creaking)
(grunts)
-(thudding, creaking) -(grunting, panting)
Open, damn it.
Open.
(creaking)
(grunting)
-(thud) -(grunts) Come on!
(grunts)
(panting)
Come on!
(shuddering breaths)
-(thud) -AMELIA (muffled): Come on!
-(thud) -(muffled scream)
James. James.
-You have to keep moving. -Yes.
You... If you lay still,
then-then the hypoxia will set in.
The gas release valve is frozen.
I... I need to climb up and open it.
Stay alive.
-(grunts) -Stay alive.
Stay alive.
(Amelia grunts)
(grunts)
(gasps, grunts)
(strained grunting)
-(grunting) -(ropes creaking)
(faint grunting)
(grunting)
(panting)
(grunting)
(grunts)
PIERRE: Amelia. Amelia.
Regarde-moi.
(wind whistling)
Thank you...
...for giving me somewhere I belonged.
(grunts)
(strained grunting)
(grunting, panting)
(grunts)
(gasping)
(grunting)
(grunts)
(breath trembling)
(muffled thud)
(panting)
(shouts)
-(grunts) -(ice creaking)
-(shouts, gasping) -(air hissing)
-(grunts) -(creaking)
(air continues hissing)
(grunts)
(panting)
-(air hissing quietly) -(grunting, thudding)
(creaking)
(air continues hissing)
(soft creaking)
(ice crackling softly)
(grunts)
(screaming)
-(ropes thud) -(screaming stops)
-(bells chiming) -(clock ticking)
-Should we have heard anything by now? -No.
We’ll only hear if there’s a disaster.
The less we hear, the...
better her chances.
-Then we pray for silence? -Yes.
Pray for silence.
(quiet chatter)
Still no sign of them.
-(clock ticking) -(quiet chatter)
(muffled thumping)
(wind whistling softly)
(ropes creaking)
(gasping)
Oh, God.
James!
(strained grunting)
Come on.
Oh, God.
(grunting)
Come on. James!
-Come on. -(rope creaking)
(grunting)
Come on.
(strained grunting)
(faint grunting)
(whimpers)
(strained grunting)
(panting)
Come on.
(grunting)
(panting)
(grunting)
(Amelia continues grunting)
(groans, grunts)
(panting)
James.
James. James.
James.
James, we’ve survived.
We’re going down.
James.
James, James.
James.
James?
We’re going down.
I can’t have this happen again.
(sniffles softly)
James.
(chuckles)
(sniffles)
Your strange two-tube device
is doing something very peculiar, you know.
(slurred): You’re meaning my hygrometer.
(sniffles)
It’s bubbling.
Could that not be significant?
It could.
We’re descending.
(stammers, sniffs)
We are.
I’ve been... insensible.
You have. (chuckles)
And I think I lost my head.
It does seem that way.
Well, come on, then.
(grunting)
(panting)
Time: one hour,
-11 minutes and 19 seconds. -(chuckles)
Height?
28,600 feet.
-(chuckles) And temperature? -(creaking)
Unknown.
That equipment’s been lost to us.
-And my hygrometer’s had better days. -(drawer opens)
This is of no great use, either.
(Amelia laughs)
Our readings on the descent shall be less significant.
Oh, your hands.
(breathing heavily)
So, you didn’t have room for oils, but you did for brandy?
Well, a scientist is nothing without his equipment.
-Hold out your hands. -(scoffs)
What are you gonna do?
This is gonna hurt a bit.
I’m sorry, but you need to hold them out.
-(yells, gasps) -I know.
(groans) That hurt.
-Is that, uh, any better? -No.
Worse.
I don’t know what you did for me up there,
but I have no doubt that it was a great act.
-Your poor hands. -AMELIA: Look.
And now snow.
Oh.
As if we haven’t had enough.
It’ll pass.
It’s possibly interesting to analyze the melt water.
(steady ticking)
(wind whistling)
My sister wanted to know
why I would ever go up in a balloon again.
I think it was because I wanted...
all that I knew, all that he taught me...
...all that I’ve lost to be for something.
Well...
I need to make sense of all of this
before I can work out quite what we’ve achieved,
but it, uh...
it seems that the atmosphere has levels to it.
-That’s-that’s not what I mean. -It has patterns within it.
Newton said that we build too many walls
-and not enough bridges. -I don’t want to hear from Newton.
I want to hear from you.
All my life, I’ve found comfort in science.
It helps give meaning to the many things we can’t control.
It brings a degree of order to the...
chaos that surrounds us.
But whilst we may be able to explain the science
behind an aureole or the falling snow...
...it’s not possible to account for its beauty.
Together...
we’ve brought the stars closer.
We have brought the stars closer.
Do you notice something about the snow?
(wind whistling)
-It’s not falling. -(steady ticking)
It’s hovering.
It’s static.
JAMES: Strange. What might be...
We might, if we were traveling at the same speed as it.
The same speed as snow?
The gas, it’s still escaping.
Combined with the decrease in pressure, it means...
That the balloon’s collapsing.
AMELIA: Quick, help me!
Pull!
-Pull! -(air hissing)
-What on earth was that? -My shoe.
Probably best not to question it.
But if your shoe was up there, that means that...
Maybe we save the thanks for later.
We need to lose weight.
A lot of weight. Now!
(grunting, panting)
Come on.
The chest! The chest!
I’ll do it.
-One, two. -(Amelia grunts)
(grunting)
AMELIA: We should lose our jackets.
My hands.
Help me.
Yeah. I’ll do it.
Come on!
It’s not working, Amelia!
It’s not working!
(creaking)
Climb into the hoop.
-What? -Amelia, climb into the hoop!
We need to lose the basket! It’s the heaviest weight!
Come on!
Quick!
Come on!
(shouting)
(screams)
AMELIA: That’s it!
-(James grunts) -(Amelia yells)
-Come on! -(James yells)
(grunts)
-(gasping) -One more!
(grunting, gasping)
Hold on!
(both scream)
It’s not enough!
-We’re still too fast. -It will be enough.
Amelia?
Amelia, what are you doing?
I’m not sure I was meant to survive this.
Amelia, no! Get back down!
Amelia!
Bedsheets.
Amelia, bedsheets!
We sever the cord keeping the balloon in shape,
and then the silk will be pulled up into the netting
and act as a parachute.
-It’s not going to work! -It will work!
I’m not returning alone.
Amelia, I’m not returning alone.
It’s either both of us or neither of us.
Hold on!
We hold on!
Whoa! (gasping)
(gasps, yells)
(panting)
(yells)
JAMES: It worked!
(chuckles)
It’s not over yet.
(both screaming)
(both grunting, yelling)
James!
(screams)
(birds chirping)
(grunting quietly)
James!
JAMES (in distance): Amelia?
James! (chuckles)
-James! -Amelia, I’m coming!
James!
-James! -Amelia!
(laughs): James.
Amelia!
(laughs)
James.
I was just coming to find you.
Not very quickly, it seems.
(James groans)
Can you stand?
I’d rather not.
And if I help you?
Then I would stand.
(James grunting)
(Amelia chuckles)
AMELIA: It was estimated
that we rose to a height of 37,000 feet that day.
Seven miles high.
ARTHUR: "Two aeronauts
"have been nearer to the Moon and stars
than all the race of man before them."
The Times, Ethel. You read it?
ETHEL: Yes, Arthur, I’ve read it. (chuckles)
(chuckles softly)
My boy.
AMELIA: James Glaisher’s meticulous recording of data
showed that the atmosphere has different layers within it,
a discovery which led
to the first scientific weather forecasts.
The fact that I am able to be here at all
to present this to you is due to some luck,
some help...
...and Amelia Wren’s remarkable courage.
So, we tell our story
not for the purposes of pleasure
but for the advancement of knowledge...
...and for the good of us all.
(applause)
AMELIA: We took to the skies
in the name of discovery, to find something new,
to change the world.
Come on! I’ve flown in worse weather than this!
-We’ll make pilots of you yet. -(laughter)
We won’t.
AMELIA: But you don’t change the world
simply by looking at it.
You change it through the way you choose to live in it.
Look up.
The sky lies open.
("Home to You" by Sigrid playing)
♪ Couldn’t wait till I got outside ♪
♪ Wondering what the world be like ♪
♪ I knew I had to change my mind ♪
♪ Didn’t realize it would happen all so soon ♪
♪ All so soon ♪
♪ But I see the world so different now ♪
♪ That there’s a place by the sea ♪
♪ And that’s my town ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to say ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to do ♪
♪ There’s a room I need to sit in ♪
♪ Surrounded by my favorite view ♪
♪ When I need a hand to hold ♪
♪ Someone to tell the truth ♪
♪ Would it be okay if I came home to you? ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Independence comes with a price ♪
♪ And questioning your own advice ♪
♪ But I know I’ll be all right ♪
♪ With an open door ♪
♪ No matter what I do ♪
♪ What I do ♪
♪ Mm, but I see the world so different now ♪
♪ That there’s a place by the sea ♪
♪ And that’s my town ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to say ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to do ♪
♪ There’s a room I need to sit in ♪
♪ Surrounded by my favorite view ♪
♪ When I need a hand to hold ♪
♪ Someone to tell the truth ♪
♪ Would it be okay if I came home to you? ♪
♪ No, I don’t want to keep on going ♪
♪ When I’m miles away ♪
♪ And you’re too far away ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ But if I need you to remind me ♪
♪ That nothing has changed ♪
♪ Would it be okay, would it be okay ♪
♪ For you? ♪
♪ And I see the world so different now ♪
♪ ’Cause there’s a place by the sea ♪
♪ And that’s my town ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to say ♪
♪ When I don’t know what to do ♪
♪ There’s a room I need to sit in ♪
♪ Surrounded by my favorite view ♪
♪ When I need a hand to hold ♪
♪ Someone to tell the truth ♪
♪ Would it be okay if I came home to you? ♪
♪ No, would it be okay ♪
♪ If I came home to you? ♪
(song ends)
(wind whistling)