'The Aeronauts'

An odd but mostly satisfying mix of gee-whiz adventure and wrenching drama is the fuel for “The Aeronauts,” a story of science and discovery that stays afloat more steadily than you might guess.

It’s 1862, and aspiring scientist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) is determined to prove his theories about meteorology, that he can find patterns in the weather and use them to predict what weather we will get. To do this, he must go airborne, and his only option is daredevil balloonist Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones), who’s more about show business than science.

The script, by Jack Thorne (who shares story credit with director Tom Harper), paints in broad strokes how mismatched these two characters are. Glaisher disdains Wren’s theatrics, like parachuting her dog down to the cheering crowd, but she knows it’s what pays the bills. Meanwhile, Wren thinks Glaisher is too buried in his measurements and readings to appreciate the glory of flying above everyone and everything on Earth.

The trip is presented practically in real time — the flight almost precisely matches the movie’s running time — though the thrills and spills of the balloon trip are augmented with flashbacks. There, we learn how Glaisher is fighting the entrenched scientific forces, who equate predicting the weather to fortune telling. We also see that Wren is more nervous than she lets on, because of a balloon accident involving her husband, Pierre (Vincent Perez).

Harper — who’s having a good year, between this and the country-music drama “Wild Rose” — deftly juggles the backstory with the ongoing airborne adventure. He also reunites the stars of “The Theory of Everything,” though this time giving Jones the juicier role, one that she leaps into with a rebel’s heart. The narrative ride of “The Aeronauts” is bumpy at times, but Jones is a confident pilot who handles the story’s emotional turbulence with ease.

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‘The Aeronauts’

★★★

Opens Friday, December 6, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City), Megaplex Valley Fair (West Valley City), Megaplex Jordan Commons (Sandy).and Megaplex at The District (South Jordan); begins streaming on Amazon Prime on December 20. Rated PG-13 for some peril and thematic elements. Running time: 100. minutes.