British Actress Blog

The Theory of Flight (1998)

Score: 9/10

Director: Paul Greengrass

Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Kenneth Branagh, Gemma Jones, Ray Stevenson.

The Honorable Mention Series:

Synopsis: An innovator aspires to create a new type of human flight by jumping off the top of a public building while wearing a bootstrapped glider and almost getting himself killed in the process, which gets him into legal trouble.

Review: Richard ( Kenneth Branagh ) is a man in dire need of mental therapy. He has some sort of nervous breakdown, tears his paintings apart, and builds some kind of glider in order to jump off the top of a building as though that is suppose to change his life for the better. He avoids jail time but is given community service instead. This causes him to meet a wheelchair bound lady named Jane Hatched ( Helena Bonham Carter ), who looks for his friendship in order to fulfill her personal bucket list before she dies.

Helena Bonham Carter has to be the most versatile British actress ever. She did a very convincing job as a paraplegic who is falling apart physically. I am really impressed with the movies I am seeing from her. You really feel for her character in this film. Kenneth Branagh is great in this movie. He has that natural comedic talent that makes his crazy character Richard work in this movie. Its interesting to see him as this silly and truly misguided character since his other performance in the movie Murder on the Orient Express (2017) as the investigator Hercule Poirot is the polar opposite of Richard. Kenneth Branagh is definitely showing some serious acting range.

So this is a very similar movie to the film The theory of Everything (2014). Both movies do a superb job at showing the audience of the struggles of the ailment that both characters are suffering from. The movies also show the toll the ailment is taking on the families that care for their wheelchair bond loved one. There is a strong sense of realism in both films when it come to the daily struggles of the whole family. The films also show us how the families try to keep hope alive even facing the mortality of the illness stricken family member. This is something these films did right. It really opens the eyes of the audience to something we all take for granted and don’t really think much about. The ability to move, speak, and walk.

The cinematography is old and dated. The camera shots are not that great either, just mediocre for its time. Sometimes the camera shots are zoomed out way too far and we don’t get to see the emotion of a situation of the actors face. This film deserved better. The backgrounds, set dressing, wardrobe, and lighting are well done but seriously down graded by the middle of the road cinematography. Over all, this is a very well done movie. This was a lot of fun to watch. The story was always being pushed forward and it was never boring. The chemistry between Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh was excellent to watch and I wanted to see more. If you can get past the dated look of the film then give this one a go.

More Films from Helena Bonham Carter:

Les Misérables (2012)

Cinderella (2015)

The King’s Speech (2010)

Suffragette (2015)

Fight Club (1999)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

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