Retrospective: Einstein and Eddington (2008)

[David N. Butterworth]

EINSTEIN AND EDDINGTON (2008)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2015 David N. Butterworth

*** (out of ****)

Gollum (Andy Serkis, from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) and Dr. Who
(David Tennant) play the eponymous genius physicist and relatively-unknown
astronomer, respectively, in the impeccably-made BBC docudrama "Einstein
and Eddington."
The film chronicles English observer Arthur Eddington's efforts to
prove German theorist Albert Einstein's assertion that Newton's law of
universal gravitation was seriously flawed, as illustrated by the orbit of
the planet Mercury. That all this takes place during the onset of World
War I, and that Eddington was a man of peace, only adds to the human
drama. "I know you're a Quaker," the head of the Cambridge Royal
Observatory, Sir Oliver Lodge, tells him. "You won't fight. I have no
quarrel with that. But you're worried. Because you're an Englishman you
feel your patriotism is in conflict with your faith."
It's that very conflict that centers the film. Addressing a
persecuted German family in meeting for worship as an unruly crowd grows in
numbers outside, Eddington proclaims "Who are we? If we are anything, we
Quakers are men and women of principle. We will never believe that any
man, woman, or child is unwelcome in our beloved England because they were
born in another country." And when Sir Oliver questions Eddington's
open-mindedness, the astrophysicist is stoic in his rebuttal: "I was made
for this. I'm the best measuring man in England! This is my moment. This
is what my whole life in science has been for. I would never, never allow
bias or prejudice in. I swear to you on all that I hold dear my mind is
open."
Eddington's proof made Einstein famous and instantly transformed the
little-known scientist into one of the most recognizable people in the
world. Eddington himself was less happy in the spotlight, and spent the
rest of his life trying to unite his scientific knowledge with his
religious faith.

NB: This review originally appeared in "Celluloid Friends: Cinematic
Quakers, Real and Imagined (1922-2012)" (Amazon Press, 2015), reprinted
with permission.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterwo...@gmail.com