Einstein and Eddington

Who saw it? What did you think of it?

I personally thought it was great, really clever use of parallels between the two stories, and some really strong scenes. It wasn't perfect though - a couple of lines jarred for me, and I felt that the scene with Tennant riding the bike alongside the train should have had a happy ending, that's just what I thought felt right for the scene. But overall, it was great, clever writing, and brilliant performances from Tennant (as always) and Serkis to top it off.

Voidy -
The point of that scene was that the idyllic Britain of tennis, tea and bicycling was being left behind, that war would separate the two men irrevocably and signalled the end of that way of life. TS Elliot's The Hollowmen and Virginia Wolfe's Mrs Dalloway deal with this theme extensively. It highlights the loss of innocence of the Empire and Newtonian Law.

I enjoyed it immensely. A shame it couldn't have been scheduled during big bang week earlier this year. The broadcast slot not very conducive to appreciating the wonderful performances or subject matter.

Kate Seadevil wrote:Voidy -
The point of that scene was that the idyllic Britain of tennis, tea and bicycling was being left behind, that war would separate the two men irrevocably and signalled the end of that way of life.

I see your point, however I would prefer it as the two men, who never finished their 2000+ miles bike ride that year, having 'one last bicycle ride', as it were, to add a sense of completion to their friendship, as their riding would be finished.

I'm watching this as I type and the main theme screams "This Old Man" to me.

That was f'ing brilliant, I have a huge smile on my face because the sun came out. This is one of the thousands of reasons I love dear old auntie beeb.

loved it- tennant was very like "john smith" wasn't he?

Loved it, big themes handled in a very accessible way.

DT was great as usual, but I was really impressed by Serkis as well. I didn't realise he could be such a capable actor. And there was more than a hint of Doctorish-ness there, as well.

A fantastic film with smashing performances. It perhaps tried to do too much in 90 minutes but the way Peter Moffat strung together the themes was astonishingly good. The whole point of Eddington chasing after his friend Marston was not just to symbolise the end of Empire. It very much echoed the idea of Einstein's theory of time slowing down the faster you go and therefore suggested the demise of Newton's physics (British) by Einstein (German) as a parallel to the war. And of course there was also the notion of gay relationships having to be conducted at arms length too.

Fab-u-lous. Full review on the blog.

Finally had a chance to see this, very good. Tennant and Serkis did an excellent job.

Zoltar wrote:Finally had a chance to see this, very good. Tennant and Serkis did an excellent job.

|It's just a shame that neither actor ever actually got to share a scene with the other.

Sid Seadevil wrote:

Zoltar wrote:Finally had a chance to see this, very good. Tennant and Serkis did an excellent job.

|It's just a shame that neither actor ever actually got to share a scene with the other.

Aside from the one at the end...

Nick Barlow wrote:Aside from the one at the end...

Which was televisual slight-of-hand Tennant and Sirkis never physically met during the production - Much less played a scene together in the same location at the same time.

Sid Seadevil wrote:

Nick Barlow wrote:Aside from the one at the end...

Which was televisual slight-of-hand Tennant and Sirkis never physically met during the production - Much less played a scene together in the same location at the same time.

Are you sure? I'm sure I recall Tennant saying in the RT that he and Serkis had had one day on set together - Serkis arrived in (I can't remember if it was Prague or Budapest) as Tennant was leaving.

Maybe they should team the two up for a spinoff series where they fight crime using the principles of advanced physics?

'Now, ve have a body in the library. But vot if zat body was travelling at the speed of light before it was murdered?'

Nick Barlow wrote:Are you sure? I'm sure I recall Tennant saying in the RT that he and Serkis had had one day on set together - Serkis arrived in (I can't remember if it was Prague or Budapest) as Tennant was leaving.

Absolutely certain, Nick old fellow. They filmed the final meeting scene at different times with stand-ins doubling for both depending on who was the particular filming focus of the scene on their scheduled day.

Nick Barlow wrote:Maybe they should team the two up for a spinoff series where they fight crime using the principles of advanced physics?

'Now, ve have a body in the library. But vot if zat body was travelling at the speed of light before it was murdered?'

I think you're onto something here. Quick! A phone call to Dame Julie is in order immediately!!!

I saw it myself not too long ago and was more impressed by Andy Serkis than David Tennant, but then my respect for Andy Serkis climbs every time I find one of his performances.

I was grabbed by the story, which is right up my alley anyway, and as chance would have it I'd been reading about both men only the week before, but seeing how the two situations combined was really interesting.

Thoroughly worthwhile, and David Tennant was as good as I'd hoped.

Nick Barlow wrote:Maybe they should team the two up for a spinoff series where they fight crime using the principles of advanced physics?

'Now, ve have a body in the library. But vot if zat body was travelling at the speed of light before it was murdered?'

Very Five Fists of Science/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I like it.

Dave Webb wrote:I saw it myself not too long ago and was more impressed by Andy Serkis than David Tennant, but then my respect for Andy Serkis climbs every time I find one of his performances.

Mine does as well, I particularly enjoyed his character in The Prestige.

Dave Webb wrote:my respect for Andy Serkis climbs every time I find one of his performances.

Have you seen his guest appearance in Spooks? That might be the exception to the rule, but then that entire episode is an exception to lots of rules...

David Tennant nearly broke my heart when he was crying for his dead lover.

Lucy McGough wrote:David Tennant nearly broke my heart when he was crying for his dead lover.

I thought he acted that scene brilliantly, yep.