One of the reasons I really like this production is that there are no bad guys or good guys. Yes, there is conflict between the major players, but all of them are trying to do the right thing. Their motives and agendas may conflict, but no one is being unreasonable or malicious. They just have different points of view.

In the end, I feel the film treats them all fairly.

Jeff Goldblum is an outstanding actor and plays the sciencey nerdy character well in so many movies. Alan Howard and Tim Pigott-Smith were also excellent in their roles, but Juliet Stevenson really stood out to me. Playing a real life person, her arc came very slowly and then all at once in the end. Stevenson has such an incredible acting range, and the sheer breadth of her film work is just amazing. When you talk about expressions telling a story that is the mark of excellent actors. So many people don’t appreciate just how difficult acting is. Having worked behind the camera for decades I can see how amazingly talented this cast was.

I was surprised this outstanding movie doesn’t show up in Goldblum, Stevenson or Howards film credits in IMDB or Wikipedia. It does show up in Tim Piggott-Smith Wikipedia but not his IMDB.

I was actually heartbroken in the end that Roselind Franklin died before the awarding of the Noble Prize. It seems like such an injustice the rules don’t allow post humous awards. I also would think Maurice Wilkins may not have liked the way he was portrayed, but history is what it is, and he apparently consulted on the making of this film.

Thanks for the recommendation!

So much of the drama here is understated, subtle. I suggest you study the faces of the characters as they interact, you can read their thoughts and emotions in their facial expressions. Its not just good history of science, it is Oscar-worthy performances and a terrific script that make this show worthwhile, and it also gives us a glimpse into the dreary landscape of postwar Britain.. Thanks again, Pod.

The rest of you really need to sit down and watch this. Really.

This is the best film about science, the scientific enterprise, and the people in it (and their motivations) that I have ever seen, both from a dramatic and historical POV. And it documents one of the 5 fundamental scientific achievements of the XXth century. (The others were Relativity, Quantum Theory, Hubble’s expanding universe and nuclear fission.)

And its Jeff Goldblum’s greatest work.