User:Neddyseagoon/sandbox/Eddington

Einstein and Eddington

Cast

Germany

• Albert Einstein — Andy Serkis
• Agnes Müller — Eleanor Tomlinson
• Mileva Einstein — Rebecca Hall
• Elsa Einstein — Jodhi May
• Max Planck — Donald Sumpter
• Eduard Einstein — Jacob Theato
• Fritz Haber — Anton Lesser
• Leopold Koppel — John Bowe
• Mileva Einstein - Lucy Cohu
• Aunt Fanny - Kika Markham
• Uncle Rudolf - Philip Whitchurch
• Hans Einstein - Callum Williams

Britain

• Arthur Eddington — David Tennant
• Sir Oliver Lodge — Jim Broadbent
• Winnifred Eddington — Rebecca Hall
• Frank Dyson — Richard McCabe
• Librarian - Lucy Briers
• HH Turner - Paul Brooke
• Boy throwing stones - Oliver Hall
• William Marston - Patrick Kennedy
• Frank Dyson - Richard McCabe
• Frau Muller - Caroline Gruber
• Agnes Muller - Eleanor Tomlinson
• First Tennis Player - Ben Uttley

Plot

The prelude is set on Eddington's expedition to observe the solar eclipse in 1919, before moving back in time to 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War Eddington is appointed chief astronomer at Cambridge and instructed to research Einstein's work and defend the Newtonian status quo, whilst Einstein is tempted back from Zurich to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in an attempt to aid the war effort by embarrassing Britain in disproving the work of its great scientist Isaac Newton. In Berlin, with his marriage already under tension, Einstein falls in love with his cousin Elsa.

A Quaker and therefore unable to go to war, Eddington also says farewell to his 'friend' William Marston as the latter goes off to war as an officer, but just missing William's train as he goes to admit his homosexual love for him before he departs. He then presents his lecture to his fellow astronomers at the university - defending Newton but still thinking Einstein might be right - and takes a German family into his home to save them from xenophobic rioters. When Einstein's wife arrives in Berlin, she realises Einstein's affair and leaves him, whilst Eddington faces down angry xenophobic and anti-pacifist protestors. Einstein arrives late at a demonstration of Fritz Haber's poison gas and is so disgusted by the use of science for the war effort that he refuses an offer to convert his citizenship back from Swiss to German and refuses to sign Manifesto to the Civilized World, a list of German scientists supporting the war.

Eddington finds his research into Einstein obstructed by a British ban on the circulation German scientific literature. Realising that Mercury's orbit is slightly less than it should be according to Newton's laws, he writes to Einstein despite the ban to inquire into his view on the problem. Einstein's relationship with Elsa deepens and on receiving Eddington's letter he starts work on this new avenue with Max Planck, whilst consoling colleague Planck on the loss of his son in the war despite Einstein's lack of belief in God or an afterlife. They find that Einstein's work agrees with Mercury's orbit where Newton's does not, and send this reply back to Eddington. At the same time Eddington receives and grieves for the death of Marston among the 15,000 killed by German use of chlorine gas at the battle of Ypres, causing doubts in his faith but leading him to be fight all the more loudly against an expulsion of German scientists from Cambridge. The expulsion has been initiated by Sisley, whose son was also among the killed and who clings to Newton as a consolation of "order in the universe", but Eddington is unable to admit to Sisley that he too is grieving for a loved one lost.

News of the gas attack also leads Einstein to an outburst against his fellow scientists, which leads to his being cut off from the university, and - overworking - he falls sick and Elsa leaves him. Even so, he manages to complete his work on general relativity and on space being bent by gravity and get this result through to Eddington via Planck. Eddington realises he can prove that space and light is being bent by observing the solar eclipse of May 29 1919 on the west African island of Principe and with Dyson as an ally manages to gain funding for his expedition, despite Sisley's initial opposition. As the end of the war comes, Eddington's sister sets off to help the Quaker relief effort in war-shattered Germany despite her fears as to Eddington's waning faith.

The action returns to the Principe expedition, prevented by bad weather until the very last moment, while Einstein briefly returns to his ex-wife and children. Bringing back two photographs from the eclipse to compare to photographs of the night sky in normal conditions, Eddington compares them in public with Sisley and Winifred in attendance and not only proves Einstein right but also reaffirms his faith - as he states, "I can hear God, thinking". News of his vindication reaches Einstein, and crowds of press people arrive at his door just as Elsa returns to him.

A year later, Einstein visits Cambridge and meets Eddington.