Einstein and Eddington (2008) (TV)

Director:

Philip Martin

Writer:

Peter Moffat (written by)

Release Date:

23 November 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

A look at the evolution of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, and Einstein's relationship with British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, the first physicist to understand his ideas. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

David Tennant	...	Arthur Eddington
Richard McCabe	...	Frank Dyson
Patrick Kennedy	...	William Marston
Ben Uttley	...	Tennis Player 1
Gyuri Sarossy	...	Tennis Player 2
Rebecca Hall	...	Winnie Eddington
Jim Broadbent	...	Sir Oliver Lodge
Andy Serkis	...	Albert Einstein
Jacob Theato	...	Eduard Einstein
Callum Williams	...	Hans Einstein
Lucy Cohu	...	Mileva Einstein
Donald Sumpter	...	Max Planck
Lucy Briers	...	Librarian
Anton Lesser	...	Fritz Haber
John Bowe	...	Leopold Koppel

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Company:

Company Television Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Eddington went to the railway station to see Marston off, he used a subway to get across to platform 3. Cambridge station has no subway, all the platforms are accessible on the level.

Quotes:

Arthur Eddington: Pick up the tablecloth.
[Winnie and Frank hold up the tablecloth]
Arthur Eddington: Space. The tablecloth is space...
[Holds up a round loaf of bread]
Arthur Eddington: The sun.
[Drops it in the middle of the stretched tablecloth]
Arthur Eddington: What's happening?
Winnie Eddington: What?
Arthur Eddington: What's happening with the sun in space?
Winnie Eddington: Well, the bread is sinking into the tablecloth.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Parkinson: (2007-05-05)" (2007)

Opulent but mushy public service docu-drama

Despite going to town on this well-intentioned project that marries drama, scientific explication and a smattering of other issues (which orbit the event heliocentrically like the clanky model dominating Eddington's study), it really does feel terrible soppy. Everything is a series of set pieces as well - in a post walk-n-talk world one might expect a little more economy. The problem is that the biggest drama is not the War, the lover that dare not speak his name, the erosion of faith or Einstein's burgeoning interest in Schubert (all dealt with in a worn, conventional set pieces). No, the problem is all to do with the dry, literary nature of theoretical science. The script is the biggest offender with Laboratoire Garner-style 'here comes the science!' moments. It's too easy to patronise an audience with the well-worn exposition technique of one character explaining what's going on to another. The most effective sequence of this film is that in which Einstein has his epiphany in the middle of oncoming traffic but no further mention is made of the incident, either in flashback or dialogue when Eddington is re-explaining it to his confidants.

Luckily the performances are reasonable - the three world-class actors (Serkis, Broadbent and Jodhi May) manage performances that transcend TV. The big draw for the target audience though is casting the BBC's mad-scientist-superstar/lodestone David Tennant as Eddington. Tennant is a sympathetic Eddington, discovering his backbone and the cracks in conventional Newtonian physics simultaneously. The secondary cast are good support, particularly Donald Sumpter as Max Planck. This is not Copenhagen, but it was never supposed to be (and it's well filmed). 4/10