Virginia Woolf's Night & Day (2026) Movie Script
1
Perseus...
Cassiopeia...
Andromeda...
Ah!
Are you winking at me?
That's it! That's it.
That's it.
Get your head out of that never
ending manuscript, Bess!
Please.
Ouch, he
bloody nipped me!
My gorgeous Rexy!
Yesterday.
Day
before yesterday.
Day
before yesterday.
Variable. Variable!
Variable!
Show me
how big you are.
Aaahh!
Oh, come on.
Well,
she's a spinster.
Oh, shhh! Shhh!
You're her mother,
can't you do something?
I wasn't
going to tell you.
What?
William Rodney
is coming.
He is
coming to...?
Oh, is he?
I'm older than you.
I know more of the
world than you.
Did I ever mention I'm related
to William the Conqueror?
I'm older than you. I know more
of the world than you.
Did I ever mention I'm related
to William the Conqueror?
Ahhh! William Rodney. Dear boy.
Courage! Women are our
mountains to die on.
Right.
She's in
the parlour.
I haven't slept.
Go forth
and conquer.
No.
No?
You're my oldest friend,
but I don't want to marry you.
I saw you in the
bath when I was 6.
Exactly.
No!
You mean: no as in no,
or no as in no, no.
Yes.
- Yes?
- No!
We've known each other
our entire lives.
We'd be respected.
I have other plans.
Katharine, there comes a
time in one's life
when one sets plans aside
... for a place in society.
Like my mother?
Brother...
What am I?
The last pickle in the jar.
Cousin.
You are the loveliest
pickle in the jar.
Willy. You're ridiculous.
Are you done
writing yet?
I'm on page 597.
And how long have you been
writing that now?
Fifteen years?
So is that around 39 pages a
year... around 3 pages a month
Well, father's life was
very complicated.
I don't know what I'm supposed
to do about that.
Will you get up before
they get the wrong idea?
Now listen, I need you to do
this one thing for me.
We could both be amateurs, me a
poet and you an astrologer.
Astronomer.
Yes, astronomer. Sorry.
You can't be walking around
in the dead of night
unchaperoned. It is--
See, you already
want a divorce?
No, I want to convince
you. Please. I have a surprise.
I need you to go and
recite your beautiful poetry.
Where?
In here.
No, no, no. No,
I don't want to.
Yes, you're going.
ALL EXCEPT KATHARINE
AND WILLIAM: So?
I'll go get that folio.
Oh, I could come and help.
Hello.
Hello.
Well...
Tea?
Well.
I think she's just gone
for a bit of a mull.
Sit, sit!
Cousin, I feel your
garden would be much improved
by the presence of a small
ornamental pond with a
Chinese duck.
It would lighten
the spirits so.
A Chinese duck?
I wrote a poem once
about 'Mallards'.
Did you?
What rhymes with 'Mallard'?
Not a great deal.
But, ah, fortunately,
quite a lot rhymes with duck.
Hat.
Huh.
Sorry, sir.
Stop, stop, stop!
Stop! Stop!
Keep
the change. Keep it.
What have I done
to deserve a daughter?
Cousin.
Kit!
You look handsome
in my suit, don't you?
Look at you.
Don't call me Kit.
What a man called Katharine.
Where are we going?
Cy, I have done it.
What! With your Norman admirer?
No! I didn't think my 'scope
was big enough,
but I think I've
discovered a yardstick.
A who?
A cosmic yardstick.
Ouch! That sounds
rather painful.
I just need to run my calcs
and publish it.
Well, what's
stopping you?
What is the greatest
problem that we face today?
Poverty. Prejudice?
Pending war in Europe?
We don't understand
our place in the universe.
Who are we?
Where are we?
Are we the centre
of everything?
Or are we a pinprick in a
system so colossal
we may never understand it?
I am blinded by your intellect,
but honestly,
I often don't know what--
Ah, the
Astronomical Society.
Hence the
suit. I understand now.
Do I look ridiculous?
No, you look dashing.
Dashing.
I want a good seat
so I can see Lady
Margaret Huggins.
Cy, that's her!
She's co-signatory
with her husband
on dozens of radical papers.
I suspect
she secretly wrote them all.
I'm an
honorary member
and this is a vote on women.
And I said, 'no women'.
Oh!
Welcome, Sir.
Thank you.
Welcome, Sir.
Thank you.
Go on. Find a way Kit.
Get it published.
Chop chop! Life is but a sigh.
Orrr... orrr... order please!
Gentlemen, we are
convened today
as the Astronomical Society
to vote on whether women should
be allowed to become fellows.
No!
This is a serious
institution...
Yes!
...for serious men.
Might as well lay
parquet flooring.
And
serve sherry at the doors.
I'd rather
see a dog in space.
As you all know,
I am an equitable man.
And if there were a way to
believe that women could
expand our knowledge
and understanding of
the Universe,
I would be as happy as anybody.
Order, order...
All those in favour, raise your
hand to support the motion.
One, two, three,
sorry. One, two...
Seven
Seven?
For God's sake.
Support the motion, Gentlemen.
There are women doing the most
brilliant science.
Does their brilliance
threaten you?
Who are you?
Do you fear being
bested by them? Is that it?
Sit down, man. Sit down.
Gentlemen,
my,
my cousin has a passionate...
One day women
will be let in.
Sit down man!
Biggots, baboons
and Byzantines!
All
those against?
The motion is-
Defeated.
We are born in the
wrong century, Kit.
I'm sorry.
You'll probably
get the vote before I do.
Then maybe dogs will
become Prime Minister.
Is this a prank?
Well, Katharine,
pray tell?
Father, it's time...
You? Cross dressing, are you..?
I just want to study.
Absolutely out of the question.
You'll marry and
you'll be a wife.
Cyril put you up to it. Did he?
No.
Well, I forbid you to see him.
Who are you to forbid me?
I'm your father.
And the
master of this house.
Did William Rodney
propose to you?
Ahh. Of course, yes, you were
too bloody stupid to
say yes to him.
I want this
rubbish gone. All these gone.
No, no. Don't you...
No more precarity.
For now you live in my house,
you live by, by my rules.
My rules.
Pignut!
Hedgeborn!
I live in my own self
By my own rules.
Is getting lost the surprise?
I wasn't lost,
the map was upside down. It is
an easy mistake to make.
I hate
blasted surprises.
Could you just
cheer up please?
Right, should
be just up here.
Oh!
I hope this
won't take long.
They say you
might be able to see
the comet tonight.
Really?
Spurned, nought
have ye cared,
Raising your eyes to
a wider morrow
Ways that are weary
days that are dreary...
Is that Virginia Woolf?
Hail, hail victors ye stand
Wearing the wreath
that the brave have worn!
And so I said to that copper,
"let me through and take your
hands off my breasts!"
And he dropped me like a stone
right in front of number 10.
But I wasn't finished there,
I said, "when I get the vote,
I'll be the one
wearing the trousers
and you'll be free to
do the ironing".
I'll iron your shirts anytime,
Mary Datchett.
Will you put a bit of
starch on them too?
I will do my best.
Oh! Basnet. You give
me faith in the human race.
Ah, our star guest.
At tonight's free
discussion of everything,
Mr. William Rodney.
And metaphor in
Elizabethan poetry.
Come, come, Mr. Rodney.
You look like someone's
stolen your bicycle.
Thank you very Mary Datchett.
Datchett. Datchett.
Thank you. Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.
And ladies in
gentlemen's trousers.
Well, why I'm--why I'm--
why I am here...
Katharine. This is for you.
"Biting my truant heart,
beating myself for spite...
Fool. Said my muse to me.
Look in thy
heart and write."
The words of Sir Philip
Sidney's epic poem. Astrophil,
the lovestruck stargazer,
and Stella,
his unresponsive star.
For any of the
etymologically inclined...
Astrophil, of course,
from the Greek,
no doubt as well alluding
to Sir Philip's Christian name
Phil-Phil-Philophile,
Philophile, not philophile.
That would mean a lover
of people called Philip.
Blasted fog!
Goddamnit.
God has little
to do with it.
The culprits are coal
fires and factory owners.
Who are you?
Who are you?
What are you doing up here?
Same as you.
Hmm. Avoiding the bourgeoisie.
Ouch.
They are radical.
Not that radical.
Are you one of them?
No, I'm here against
my own will.
A hostage.
Maybe.
Hmm.
Oh!
Can I help?
A woman who knows
what she wants.
Bah! A woman who
knows what she wants.
Is it my English?
No, your English is perfect.
Then trust me.
I'm not trusting of strangers
on rooftops,
not least ones with holes
in their waistcoat.
A small one.
Are appearances
that important to you?
No, but I apply caution.
Is that why you're on a rooftop
with a cracked telescope?
Hmm?
Is that why
you're up here hiding
from a bunch of Valkyrie?
Valkyrie?
Be careful.
No, you be careful.
I liked
what you said.
Really?
Just the kind
of traditional speech
no one has the courage
to make anymore.
Oh! Thank you.
Willy, can we go?
I've made up my mind.
What?
You know
Sidney had a sister.
I'm sure Shakespeare had
one. I'd venture that Anon,
who has written so many poems,
is always someone's
bloody sister.
In science women
write anonymously.
It's as though you're
suggesting that
everything unnamed
is written by a woman?
What if it is? Women are far
more interesting,
inventive, clever.
Well, I'm not disputing
that. I'm just saying that--
Mister Rodney,
I advise retreat.
Right.
Wait. Come and
see me at my office.
Ask me again.
What?
Ask me again.
Does this mean yes?
You know what, I would go
down on one knee,
but the floor is filthy.
Come on, before
I change my mind.
Darling,
shall we make each other happy
for the rest of our lives?
Yes. But under one condition.
Ah. Why is it always one thing
with you?
Come on.
If it relates to
the consummation,
I've had some thoughts, time
and low level lighting.
Those are our allies.
Katharine.
Enjoy the moment,
dear boy.
Women are at their kindest
when engaged.
It's when you're married
and have nippers...
Congratulations to you both.
At least
you won't die alone.
Yes.
Excuse me.
Um, the factory.
Mary's factory?
Up on the right, through the
arches. That way.
Thank you.
- Miss Hilbery.
- You said to stop by.
You made it.
Have you heard?
We have Salford.
That's great news.
Would you like
me to show you around?
Is this
where you work?
We'll need handbills
for Salford, Sally.
They're already
on the press.
So this is where we make
all of the banners and
the placards.
We're marching on
Parliament in a few weeks.
And this is
where we print our leaflets.
Can you give me a hand?
Yeah.
They need to be divided up
and then tied individually.
Like this?
Yeah.
What's that?
I'm marrying. William Rodney.
Why?
So I can work.
He's not that bad.
And he's my oldest friend.
Beth, what is this?
An eye test?
It's far too small.
I want to
apply to Cambridge.
So...?
I need to prove my thesis.
I need a lab.
There's a lot of equipment...
It's easy.
It's not easy.
It is.
Study here.
I've got it.
Stop.
Katharine.
Katharine!
Are you coming down?
Cyril. You
got my note.
I thought we were forbidden
from seeing each other.
So it's true?
William the Bloody Conqueror
has finally conquered you then?
Yes, but that's not
why I wanted to see you.
Cy, I need a reference.
For what?
Cambridge. We are a... a
pinprick in a croquet lawn,
in a universe the
size of England.
You can't marry him, Kit.
Look around you.
Imagine London
is our galaxy.
Are you listening to me, Kit.
You will find someone that
you love, you will.
Do you see
that billboard there?
Kit, this is important.
This is important.
Imagine that motor
is a cluster of stars.
I can guess
they're all roughly
the same distance from me,
what I can't say exactly is how
far away they are.
Now they pulse
from dim to bright.
What's more, the
speed at which they do so
is a function
of their actual brightness.
The longer the period,
the brighter the star.
And now take that
drunken champagne drinker.
Count the period at which he
pulses, one, two, three,
the same as the blinking motor.
So why is he dimmer?
He's not very clever.
I don't know.
He is further away?
Because we know that something
that is twice as dim,
must be 4 times as far away.
And suddenly,
I can leap and jump across the
heavens using drunken moon men.
Not bad, not bad at all.
Cy, I need a reference.
Oh, I wanted to tell you I'm
not coming home for Christmas.
What?
I-- I'm in love.
Again?
I wanted to tell you
because I know that
you hate Stogdon. And...
Uh, sorry. What do you
mean "again"?
You fall in love,
disappear for six months,
and then you come crawling back
with your heart broken.
What?
It's madness.
No, that's not how it is.
That's not how it...
This is different.
It is. It's--
You're not being fair.
No, you're not being fair.
You were the only good thing
about Christmas.
You're blushing
like a schoolgirl.
You can't
do this to yourself.
You're being cruel.
And discounting love
will get you nowhere.
You can't measure it,
you can't understand it.
It's mysterious. It's...
And until you accept that...
This is important to me.
Katharine.
Cy...
Why can't you
accept that I have finished?
Because it's 600 pages long.
You expect me to publish
an encyclopaedia.
Father's
life was very complex.
Look, look, it is absolutely--
Oh no, don't not start now
with the bloody Niagara Falls--
Will the two of you stop!
Hm?
What are you doing here?
I live here.
What are you doing here?
I work here.
You work?
Yes.
You work for my father?
Well, yes.
Um, editor, yes.
Rudolph.
Editor? Editor!
It's Ralph, sir.
Oh, nonsense Rudy,
you're a Kraut.
By the way, this is my
daughter. This is Katharine.
Bear with me. No honestly.
He's here. He will assist you.
It's perfect. He's
done it A million times.
Sometimes you are impossible.
I wish you had said something--
He has got a whole
plethora of bestsellers.
That's what he does. You'll
thank me Honestly.
Rufus, follow
me. Whatever your name is.
Alright.
Follow me.
That went well.
Right, now, you recalcitrant
little bugger.
Let me have a look at you.
Mister.
Mr. Kit.
Reference..?
Reference... reference.
Lady Margaret,
could I come in?
Go away!
I'm coming in.
Blast!
Could
I-- could I...?
Shut the door!
So sorry.
Oh!
I thought
you said come in.
You're in now.
What
is it you want?
Ten. Ten minutes.
Well, I suppose
I should offer you tea,
but I don't do that
sort of thing.
I'm not here for tea.
I think I've discovered
a theory of variable stars.
Why do you think this
room is being emptied?
We had to send the telescope
back to the British Society
because my husband became
too ill to use it.
But you're co-signatory
on dozens of papers.
I know I--I've read them all.
Well, my husband
couldn't afford an assistant.
I'm applying to Cambridge for
physics and then astronomy.
I need a referee.
If it's astronomy you want,
then help your husband
with his studies.
Guide him, author him,
shape his ideas.
No, I can't. I can't
do that.
Oh, this one we wrote.
This one, well,
I pretty much wrote.
But "we wrote".
Nobody wants a woman in
science. Trust me.
Margaret,
I'm sorry it's been so
hard for you.
You can change things.
You're brilliant.
You'll find out soon enough.
Let's just
make... make it go away.
I would just
cut it, edit it...
Bring it down to size.
Mrs. Hilbery
seems capable.
If I hear
one more word
about a woman
being capable, I--
I suppose I could,
um, trim..? Edit?
Yes, yes, absolutely,
absolutely.
Make it, make it more, um...
...more short.
Short.
I want my wife back.
It'll all be
saintly hogwash anyway.
Wait!
I know what you're
doing. Cutting away.
What?
Her life's work, making
it all go away like men do.
Wait. You're engaged?
What's it to you?
Why are you so angry?
Her life's work.
Being passed around
like some screaming child
no one wants
anything to do with.
He doesn't care,
he just wants her
serving the tea
and ringing the bell
and cutting the flowers.
Being the wife.
You have this all wrong.
There are few choices here.
We always have a choice.
Do we?
You inveigled me.
What does that mean?
Rudolf?
What are you doing?
Come on, there's work to be
done. Chop chop.
It's Ralph, sir.
Come on, Rudy.
I think I
have done it.
And
then Denham said,
he said, imagine the elephant.
And I did, I did.
I started to see the trunk
and the ears, the, the horns.
First it
was almost as if
it was through mist or a fog.
And then all the writing
that shouldn't be in the work
just seemed to melt away.
Oh. What are
you talking about?
Good morning.
What--
Where is Rexy?
Rex is not here.
American Girl
discovers cosmic yardstick.
He said cut away
everything that
isn't-- elephant.
Everything that
isn't elephant. I'm free!
What elephant?
The book.
I've never,
I've never published....
No.
You're
thinking about ...
Do you see that?
No, no, he--
There's a knack
to peeling an egg.
Use your napkin,
Katharine.
Katharine,
will you--
No, let go. What on earth
are you doing..?
Stop it!
Look you...
No, no.
Look, you know
your father treats
that as his property,
and no one's
allowed to touch it.
You
actually ripped it.
MR. HILBERY & MRS. HILBERY:
I'm going to get
Rexy and clear up that egg.
There will be
other discoveries.
And at least it
was a woman.
Now it's bloody Christmas.
Come on, everybody
loves Christmas,
even an old communist like me.
You don't know the Otways.
They are a whole different
species. My kind of hell.
The Otways of Stogdon.
You know the Otways?
Well, in that case
I have a surprise.
I hate surprises.
Our first Christmas.
Ring ding-a-ling.
William...
Would you like a slice?
No.
May I have some
of those, oh.
Oh!
Dates aren't pitted.
No, I told you
not to bring the Stilton.
No one ever...
This is terrible.
I mean, it's not quite
runny enough.
Howdiddledo!
There she is. A
vision! A Fragonard!
This is my
cousin, Cassandra.
How do you do?
You are a
poet, are you not?
Oh, well-- I've written
a few verses,
some short stories. Dog...
Doggerel.
Come on.
It's a tiny car.
Shall I wait for
the second lift?
William
keep Cassandra
company like a good man.
See you shortly.
Oh, what fun.
Ah!
Cassandra like
the Trojan Princess...
I'm named after
William the Conqueror.
Oh, that's impressive.
The
engine's quiet.
Ah! Home sweet home.
So how much longer are we going
to give this, Katharine?
I'm getting a
little bit chilly.
Oh, this is a bit of
a damp squib.
Why don't you
come with me?
I'm going north for Christmas.
Will there be Stollen cake?
Probably not, but there
will be trifle.
What's trifle?
Cream and jelly and custard.
Okay, I'm coming.
Okay
Glorious, isn't she?
Copernicus, Newton
and Kit Hilbery.
CHILDREN & KATHARINE:
We'll all be dead next
time Halley pays us a visit.
Crickey!
And a great star
fell from the heavens.
Darling, which
side shall I look from?
And it burned
so bright like a torch
Yes, I know,
I'm keeping the...
And it fell onto a
third of all the rivers
and all the streams,
and there were no more.
Papa, did you see it?
I did. Rather
interesting. Hm.
Kit?
Kit?
Yes.
William
is very lovely.
You're so lucky.
He's sensitive.
Is he?
Kit.
Kit? We're cutting
the tree. Have you forgotten?
No.
No. I, uh, received
the invitation
to your publication party.
I don't receive
the invitation.
I don't want
to talk about it.
You are frazzling my nerves.
Can I let you in on
a little secret?
Yes.
I'm thinking of writing
a Christmas Limerick.
Pray tell.
What now?
Yes.
I wonder, I wonder,
and I ponder
as I grow fonder of a
young lady called...
Funny how one can let
the muse carry one away.
Christmas does that to one,
doesn't it?
So, it does.
Cyril.
Oh, Cyril.
Cyril.
I didn't know
he was coming.
Cyril.
I'm going to beat you.
My saviour.
Oh, thank God.
You used me as a reference.
What?
Hello little ones, I've got
some treats for you inside.
I'll see you in there.
No.
What? You have
an interview.
Kit, Katharine,
you have an interview.
Well, well.
The prodigal son returns.
Father.
Welcome home, son.
Well, I shall have them
set one more place for dinner.
Cyril, how lovely to see you.
Katharine must be thrilled.
Seasons-- Greetings,
Cyril.
Cyril.
I'm so sorry.
You were my only option.
You got an interview.
Look.
Yes, it's that scary
woman from the meeting.
Surprise. This is my
brother, the Vicar.
Did I ever tell you I
love carols?
Me too.
A daughter
to be married.
Really
is such a bore
that one can only marry once.
What?
Please be seated.
We are
gathered here today
to celebrate the birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus was an
Immaculate conception.
And this makes us ponder
the concept of enjoyment.
This is my third
Christmas lunch.
Your third?
Yes.
Oh, very good.
For indeed. Where does it
say that our Lord was thin?
Kit, you're so busy
looking at the stars,
you can't see what's right
in front of you.
Be generous,
super generous.
Francis, Francis... Desist.
Get off. The last thing we need
is another Nancy at the table.
What's a Nancy.
What?
Oh, son forgive me, I misspoke.
Oh, no. Well, no. More of a
Freudian slip. Nanny.
I mean, we don't need another
nanny at the table.
But good question.
What is a Nancy?
Anyone?
Boy wants to know.
Anyone?
Well, in France, it's a city.
A Nancy is someone
that runs off to Vienna
simply to be with
all the other Nancys.
Whereas a man,
a man, he stands tall.
Shoulders back
and his head held high.
A man is prepared to
do his duty.
A man is prepared to go to
war for his family,
for his country.
Well, a
Nancy can't do that.
Because a Nancy isn't a man.
Oh, somebody
realises I'm
talking about them.
Surprised
I know, I'm sure.
Is it true?
I thought you knew.
I'm convinced that life
is only meaningful
when it is motivated by
a great idea.
And in my case
that is love, father.
Poppycock.
Everyone has a right
to that, father.
When we read what
we want, when we... love
who we want, when we know
what we want,
only then will we
truly be free.
I should sit down
if I were you.
Cyril.
Let him go. He
didn't want to be here anyway.
I think it's
time for dessert.
He slipped.
He Freudian slipped.
For heaven's sake.
Has something happened?
Cyril! Cyril.
Cyril,
what are you doing?
Cyril, Come
on. Are you all right?
What are you doing? Come on!
Come on, get up.
Cyril, stop it.
Stop. Get up.
Help!
Cyril is dead.
No!
Somebody's
coming, my love.
George has sent
for a doctor. Come on.
Doctor's coming.
Come.
Come on. Come on.
Oh, my love come.
Somebody's coming.
Look, somebody's coming.
Oh my girl, there.
He was my north star.
We have entrusted our
brother Cyril to God's mercy,
And now commit
his body to the ground,
earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.
We shore in certain hope of
the resurrection
to eternal life through our
Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform
our frail bodies
so that they may be conformed
to his glorious body, who died,
was buried, and rose
again for us.
To him, be glory forever
and ever. Amen.
Amen.
I can't.
Take your glove off.
That's not what I mean.
What?
I can't marry you.
Oh! Yes.
Hm.
Of course your father
won't be happy.
Let's not tell him for now.
You...
You! The cousin.
Come in.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I couldn't see what
was right in front of me.
Why didn't he tell me?
He wanted to.
Was he afraid?
No.
He was love.
You understand, it's
quite the opposite.
He tried to
tell me about you,
but I wouldn't listen.
When people spat
at us, when they swore.
He said, it was their jealousy
that made them do it.
When they punched us,
he would tell me that they're
the ones that are hurt.
He was so brave.
He was generous, he was kind.
He--
he was magnificent
in his love.
He'd say that
life is but a sigh.
See, I never knew
what he meant.
Life is but a sign.
My problem is now I
can't ask him.
Nothing you can wrap
your head around
means anything without love.
He'd want you
to have this.
I can't take that.
Please, I'm
going back north.
Mr. Hilbery.
Yes.
Mr. Kit Hilbery.
Yes.
But-- My dear girl,
this is the physics tripos.
I applied here.
It's the physics tripos.
I suppose, as you've
come all this way.
Sit, please.
Your pure mathematics paper
was elegant. Impressive.
Self-taught?
Libraries taught me
and I taught myself.
And now for your other essay.
Some thoughts on
standard candle stars
and the size of the universe.
Yes.
We'd
be very small.
Only we're not.
That's
very entertaining.
Assuming that all
variable stars in a nebula
are of similar
actual brightness,
those that are dimmer
must be further away.
We've all read the
Swann-Leavitt paper.
Of course.
How you extrapolate to-to
what you think
is the true size of
the universe?
The mathematics is sound.
The
outcome is not.
We'd be a pinprick
in the galaxy,
surrounded by who knows
how many others.
Yes.
Science is based
on the best available guess.
Grounded in fact.
Not wild
impossibilities...
Plucked from the skies.
At least this is what
we teach here.
I have plates.
And...
...calculations
to prove my thesis.
We have our own
Cambridge telescope.
I know my scope is not
strong, I know it's too small.
Anyway, we don't
let women use the scope.
No lavatories.
What?
- No lavs!
- Lavs.
It's men only.
You mean toilets?
Women don't
direct their own research.
I could build one?
I could build one,
if lavatories
are such impediments
to progress.
And I could build
the Taj Mahal.
But
frankly, I don't have the time.
Please
stop wasting ours.
Thank
you very much.
What was
she thinking?
No more precarity.
You're wrong.
I'm going to study,
and women will come
to this college
as surely as the earth revolves
around the sun.
And so it moves.
One day, scientific
advances will prove me right.
We are tiny, much smaller than
we could ever think we are.
We are nothing, a speck,
a mote of dust in this great
mystery of a universe
throwing gigantic white rabbits
from its hat.
One day,
all of this will vanish.
All of this... this brick and
mortar and prejudice and dogma,
all of it will vanish.
And there will be a new world,
and there will be
women in science,
and there will be
lavatories too.
And when there is, when we do,
you will think back on this day
and you will remember
that you destroyed a talent
wilfully, blindly,
because you would rather
I get married.
Just give me a chance.
Don't be stuck in the
last century chaps.
Women are coming to Cambridge.
Now or in the future,
but it will happen.
Gentlemen.
Good luck.
There will be other
chances, other ways.
The art of humanity bends
towards equality.
It will happen.
You coming?
Mama.
Ah, Kit.
We are nearly there.
And we found a title.
Mr. Denham,
will you tell her
what elephant is in Persian?
'Fil', Mrs. Hilbery,
it is 'fil'.
Oh, 'fil'.
Here... was this?
You do right from
the heart Bess.
Yes, enter...
Hmm?
A letter for Miss
Hilbery, sir.
Oh.
Thank you.
University of Cambridge.
Mr. Herbert.
I hate parties.
This-this
is-- I'm not--
I will not
tolerate any more of this.
Do you remember the
breeches at Christmas?
Oh? Yes.
They say she's
one of them.
Uncle.
Katharine.
She has such a melodious
and whimsical personality.
Katharine.
I was like that once.
Were you?
Yes.
Rudy, have
you seen my daughter?
Bad news, sir.
Bad news.
You could say that.
More female bloody lunacy.
Look. Peruse that.
Mr. Herbert, I have
a good side.
Amazing.
You must be proud.
Proud?
Abject
disobedience.
Have you seen Katharine?
Briefly.
Where?
Where is she?
She passed by. Perhaps
she was going to get changed.
I'm very keen for...
Ah. Mr. Hilbery--
Katharine.
Is this angle appealing?
I do need to sit down.
Rodney, Rodney!
Ah, come over here.
You and Katharine must be front
and centre. Absolutely.
Sir?
Yes
I'm afraid that events have
somewhat overtaken us.
What?
Katharine is like a sister
to me.
Rodney, this is not
the appropriate moment.
I just don't have the
time for this.
Please please.
No need
for practice.
If you could just
move to the side please.
No, this is not
the correct position.
No, I don't mind.
You just sit here.
No, you
can't be there--
Please.
Together now,
just once.
You adventurer!
You two faced weasel mongerer!
To use
my daughter!
To ruin my good name.
Good heavens, Terry.
We will discuss this later.
Together now.
Just once.
Where
have you been?
Hello.
Good boy.
Good boy.
Can you see Rex?
Yes. Please, together now.
Ralph!
Would you
please get in the photograph?
For Katharine.
We are no longer engaged.
You should give it to her.
And do not move!
Anybody moves, they die.
Together
now, just once.
Katharine.
I'm just
trying to organise everybody!
And one...
Sir, can I just say,
I've always had the utmost...
And two...
And...
Yes!
Is the dog dead?
Oh!
Oh, dear God!
False alarm.
I know
many of you have
waited a long time for this.
Yes.
My father was a great
man of letters.
I am a mere woman of fictions.
No one knew father better.
I have all the facts.
And yet what I know--
Yes, yes, speak.
I hazard that biography
really is a kind of fiction.
It was this young man.
Yes, Mr. Denham, my editor, who
told me truth isn't singular.
No one owns it.
Everyone has
their own version of it.
Yes!
And thanks to this young man,
I wouldn't change a word of it.
Everyone's truth is the house
they live in.
Mr. Denham, please, please.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Katharine.
Seems you've enchanted Mama.
Thank you everyone. Thank you!
Is it impossible for
you to imagine
that a man may want to support
a woman's success?
Look at her.
A man dazzled her,
and then it took her 28 years
to discover her genius.
I can't afford it.
You underestimate
yourself, Katharine.
Thank you!
Call me Kit.
Congratulations, Kit.
It's what I always wanted.
It can't
wait anymore.
We will speak anon. Not now.
I can't, I can't speak now.
Congratulations.
Well done.
I gave you a decent
home, a decent education.
A half decent fianc.
You've torn me apart.
Do you think a man wants to be
with a woman who works?
Times have moved on
since you met Mama.
Your mother has been a
grand success.
Yes, she is.
Oh!
My darling.
Oh well, shall we frame it?
We could put it in
the lavatory.
Hmm.
What an honour.
Yes, time passes.
Where are you off to?
Half term. Kelso. I always do.
Just me, mummy and the dogs.
Lovely, I will be
dreaming of sun but I'll be
knee deep in books.
Swot. Have fun Kit, it
might suit you.
Ha, Ha.
He seems a respectable match.
What are you doing here?
I came to see you.
Oh!
Follow me.
I wanted to say
I'm going to Persia.
You mean goodbye?
Luckily I speak Farsi
enough to be useful.
I volunteered to
map the Daar bin Sar.
That sounds a lot.
They're
rounding up Germans.
What a mess.
Daar bin Sar.
They have an
observatory there.
I know. I thought
about you, a lot.
You did?
I was wrong.
Wrong?
Love didn't factor
into my calculations.
Love?
I think that's what Cyril
was trying to tell me.
I don't want
to discount my--
You won't.
That's the tussle, the tangle
in my heart.
Well...
Let me know who wins.
I will.
Your face.
Perseus...
Cassiopeia...
Andromeda...
Ah!
Are you winking at me?
That's it! That's it.
That's it.
Get your head out of that never
ending manuscript, Bess!
Please.
Ouch, he
bloody nipped me!
My gorgeous Rexy!
Yesterday.
Day
before yesterday.
Day
before yesterday.
Variable. Variable!
Variable!
Show me
how big you are.
Aaahh!
Oh, come on.
Well,
she's a spinster.
Oh, shhh! Shhh!
You're her mother,
can't you do something?
I wasn't
going to tell you.
What?
William Rodney
is coming.
He is
coming to...?
Oh, is he?
I'm older than you.
I know more of the
world than you.
Did I ever mention I'm related
to William the Conqueror?
I'm older than you. I know more
of the world than you.
Did I ever mention I'm related
to William the Conqueror?
Ahhh! William Rodney. Dear boy.
Courage! Women are our
mountains to die on.
Right.
She's in
the parlour.
I haven't slept.
Go forth
and conquer.
No.
No?
You're my oldest friend,
but I don't want to marry you.
I saw you in the
bath when I was 6.
Exactly.
No!
You mean: no as in no,
or no as in no, no.
Yes.
- Yes?
- No!
We've known each other
our entire lives.
We'd be respected.
I have other plans.
Katharine, there comes a
time in one's life
when one sets plans aside
... for a place in society.
Like my mother?
Brother...
What am I?
The last pickle in the jar.
Cousin.
You are the loveliest
pickle in the jar.
Willy. You're ridiculous.
Are you done
writing yet?
I'm on page 597.
And how long have you been
writing that now?
Fifteen years?
So is that around 39 pages a
year... around 3 pages a month
Well, father's life was
very complicated.
I don't know what I'm supposed
to do about that.
Will you get up before
they get the wrong idea?
Now listen, I need you to do
this one thing for me.
We could both be amateurs, me a
poet and you an astrologer.
Astronomer.
Yes, astronomer. Sorry.
You can't be walking around
in the dead of night
unchaperoned. It is--
See, you already
want a divorce?
No, I want to convince
you. Please. I have a surprise.
I need you to go and
recite your beautiful poetry.
Where?
In here.
No, no, no. No,
I don't want to.
Yes, you're going.
ALL EXCEPT KATHARINE
AND WILLIAM: So?
I'll go get that folio.
Oh, I could come and help.
Hello.
Hello.
Well...
Tea?
Well.
I think she's just gone
for a bit of a mull.
Sit, sit!
Cousin, I feel your
garden would be much improved
by the presence of a small
ornamental pond with a
Chinese duck.
It would lighten
the spirits so.
A Chinese duck?
I wrote a poem once
about 'Mallards'.
Did you?
What rhymes with 'Mallard'?
Not a great deal.
But, ah, fortunately,
quite a lot rhymes with duck.
Hat.
Huh.
Sorry, sir.
Stop, stop, stop!
Stop! Stop!
Keep
the change. Keep it.
What have I done
to deserve a daughter?
Cousin.
Kit!
You look handsome
in my suit, don't you?
Look at you.
Don't call me Kit.
What a man called Katharine.
Where are we going?
Cy, I have done it.
What! With your Norman admirer?
No! I didn't think my 'scope
was big enough,
but I think I've
discovered a yardstick.
A who?
A cosmic yardstick.
Ouch! That sounds
rather painful.
I just need to run my calcs
and publish it.
Well, what's
stopping you?
What is the greatest
problem that we face today?
Poverty. Prejudice?
Pending war in Europe?
We don't understand
our place in the universe.
Who are we?
Where are we?
Are we the centre
of everything?
Or are we a pinprick in a
system so colossal
we may never understand it?
I am blinded by your intellect,
but honestly,
I often don't know what--
Ah, the
Astronomical Society.
Hence the
suit. I understand now.
Do I look ridiculous?
No, you look dashing.
Dashing.
I want a good seat
so I can see Lady
Margaret Huggins.
Cy, that's her!
She's co-signatory
with her husband
on dozens of radical papers.
I suspect
she secretly wrote them all.
I'm an
honorary member
and this is a vote on women.
And I said, 'no women'.
Oh!
Welcome, Sir.
Thank you.
Welcome, Sir.
Thank you.
Go on. Find a way Kit.
Get it published.
Chop chop! Life is but a sigh.
Orrr... orrr... order please!
Gentlemen, we are
convened today
as the Astronomical Society
to vote on whether women should
be allowed to become fellows.
No!
This is a serious
institution...
Yes!
...for serious men.
Might as well lay
parquet flooring.
And
serve sherry at the doors.
I'd rather
see a dog in space.
As you all know,
I am an equitable man.
And if there were a way to
believe that women could
expand our knowledge
and understanding of
the Universe,
I would be as happy as anybody.
Order, order...
All those in favour, raise your
hand to support the motion.
One, two, three,
sorry. One, two...
Seven
Seven?
For God's sake.
Support the motion, Gentlemen.
There are women doing the most
brilliant science.
Does their brilliance
threaten you?
Who are you?
Do you fear being
bested by them? Is that it?
Sit down, man. Sit down.
Gentlemen,
my,
my cousin has a passionate...
One day women
will be let in.
Sit down man!
Biggots, baboons
and Byzantines!
All
those against?
The motion is-
Defeated.
We are born in the
wrong century, Kit.
I'm sorry.
You'll probably
get the vote before I do.
Then maybe dogs will
become Prime Minister.
Is this a prank?
Well, Katharine,
pray tell?
Father, it's time...
You? Cross dressing, are you..?
I just want to study.
Absolutely out of the question.
You'll marry and
you'll be a wife.
Cyril put you up to it. Did he?
No.
Well, I forbid you to see him.
Who are you to forbid me?
I'm your father.
And the
master of this house.
Did William Rodney
propose to you?
Ahh. Of course, yes, you were
too bloody stupid to
say yes to him.
I want this
rubbish gone. All these gone.
No, no. Don't you...
No more precarity.
For now you live in my house,
you live by, by my rules.
My rules.
Pignut!
Hedgeborn!
I live in my own self
By my own rules.
Is getting lost the surprise?
I wasn't lost,
the map was upside down. It is
an easy mistake to make.
I hate
blasted surprises.
Could you just
cheer up please?
Right, should
be just up here.
Oh!
I hope this
won't take long.
They say you
might be able to see
the comet tonight.
Really?
Spurned, nought
have ye cared,
Raising your eyes to
a wider morrow
Ways that are weary
days that are dreary...
Is that Virginia Woolf?
Hail, hail victors ye stand
Wearing the wreath
that the brave have worn!
And so I said to that copper,
"let me through and take your
hands off my breasts!"
And he dropped me like a stone
right in front of number 10.
But I wasn't finished there,
I said, "when I get the vote,
I'll be the one
wearing the trousers
and you'll be free to
do the ironing".
I'll iron your shirts anytime,
Mary Datchett.
Will you put a bit of
starch on them too?
I will do my best.
Oh! Basnet. You give
me faith in the human race.
Ah, our star guest.
At tonight's free
discussion of everything,
Mr. William Rodney.
And metaphor in
Elizabethan poetry.
Come, come, Mr. Rodney.
You look like someone's
stolen your bicycle.
Thank you very Mary Datchett.
Datchett. Datchett.
Thank you. Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.
And ladies in
gentlemen's trousers.
Well, why I'm--why I'm--
why I am here...
Katharine. This is for you.
"Biting my truant heart,
beating myself for spite...
Fool. Said my muse to me.
Look in thy
heart and write."
The words of Sir Philip
Sidney's epic poem. Astrophil,
the lovestruck stargazer,
and Stella,
his unresponsive star.
For any of the
etymologically inclined...
Astrophil, of course,
from the Greek,
no doubt as well alluding
to Sir Philip's Christian name
Phil-Phil-Philophile,
Philophile, not philophile.
That would mean a lover
of people called Philip.
Blasted fog!
Goddamnit.
God has little
to do with it.
The culprits are coal
fires and factory owners.
Who are you?
Who are you?
What are you doing up here?
Same as you.
Hmm. Avoiding the bourgeoisie.
Ouch.
They are radical.
Not that radical.
Are you one of them?
No, I'm here against
my own will.
A hostage.
Maybe.
Hmm.
Oh!
Can I help?
A woman who knows
what she wants.
Bah! A woman who
knows what she wants.
Is it my English?
No, your English is perfect.
Then trust me.
I'm not trusting of strangers
on rooftops,
not least ones with holes
in their waistcoat.
A small one.
Are appearances
that important to you?
No, but I apply caution.
Is that why you're on a rooftop
with a cracked telescope?
Hmm?
Is that why
you're up here hiding
from a bunch of Valkyrie?
Valkyrie?
Be careful.
No, you be careful.
I liked
what you said.
Really?
Just the kind
of traditional speech
no one has the courage
to make anymore.
Oh! Thank you.
Willy, can we go?
I've made up my mind.
What?
You know
Sidney had a sister.
I'm sure Shakespeare had
one. I'd venture that Anon,
who has written so many poems,
is always someone's
bloody sister.
In science women
write anonymously.
It's as though you're
suggesting that
everything unnamed
is written by a woman?
What if it is? Women are far
more interesting,
inventive, clever.
Well, I'm not disputing
that. I'm just saying that--
Mister Rodney,
I advise retreat.
Right.
Wait. Come and
see me at my office.
Ask me again.
What?
Ask me again.
Does this mean yes?
You know what, I would go
down on one knee,
but the floor is filthy.
Come on, before
I change my mind.
Darling,
shall we make each other happy
for the rest of our lives?
Yes. But under one condition.
Ah. Why is it always one thing
with you?
Come on.
If it relates to
the consummation,
I've had some thoughts, time
and low level lighting.
Those are our allies.
Katharine.
Enjoy the moment,
dear boy.
Women are at their kindest
when engaged.
It's when you're married
and have nippers...
Congratulations to you both.
At least
you won't die alone.
Yes.
Excuse me.
Um, the factory.
Mary's factory?
Up on the right, through the
arches. That way.
Thank you.
- Miss Hilbery.
- You said to stop by.
You made it.
Have you heard?
We have Salford.
That's great news.
Would you like
me to show you around?
Is this
where you work?
We'll need handbills
for Salford, Sally.
They're already
on the press.
So this is where we make
all of the banners and
the placards.
We're marching on
Parliament in a few weeks.
And this is
where we print our leaflets.
Can you give me a hand?
Yeah.
They need to be divided up
and then tied individually.
Like this?
Yeah.
What's that?
I'm marrying. William Rodney.
Why?
So I can work.
He's not that bad.
And he's my oldest friend.
Beth, what is this?
An eye test?
It's far too small.
I want to
apply to Cambridge.
So...?
I need to prove my thesis.
I need a lab.
There's a lot of equipment...
It's easy.
It's not easy.
It is.
Study here.
I've got it.
Stop.
Katharine.
Katharine!
Are you coming down?
Cyril. You
got my note.
I thought we were forbidden
from seeing each other.
So it's true?
William the Bloody Conqueror
has finally conquered you then?
Yes, but that's not
why I wanted to see you.
Cy, I need a reference.
For what?
Cambridge. We are a... a
pinprick in a croquet lawn,
in a universe the
size of England.
You can't marry him, Kit.
Look around you.
Imagine London
is our galaxy.
Are you listening to me, Kit.
You will find someone that
you love, you will.
Do you see
that billboard there?
Kit, this is important.
This is important.
Imagine that motor
is a cluster of stars.
I can guess
they're all roughly
the same distance from me,
what I can't say exactly is how
far away they are.
Now they pulse
from dim to bright.
What's more, the
speed at which they do so
is a function
of their actual brightness.
The longer the period,
the brighter the star.
And now take that
drunken champagne drinker.
Count the period at which he
pulses, one, two, three,
the same as the blinking motor.
So why is he dimmer?
He's not very clever.
I don't know.
He is further away?
Because we know that something
that is twice as dim,
must be 4 times as far away.
And suddenly,
I can leap and jump across the
heavens using drunken moon men.
Not bad, not bad at all.
Cy, I need a reference.
Oh, I wanted to tell you I'm
not coming home for Christmas.
What?
I-- I'm in love.
Again?
I wanted to tell you
because I know that
you hate Stogdon. And...
Uh, sorry. What do you
mean "again"?
You fall in love,
disappear for six months,
and then you come crawling back
with your heart broken.
What?
It's madness.
No, that's not how it is.
That's not how it...
This is different.
It is. It's--
You're not being fair.
No, you're not being fair.
You were the only good thing
about Christmas.
You're blushing
like a schoolgirl.
You can't
do this to yourself.
You're being cruel.
And discounting love
will get you nowhere.
You can't measure it,
you can't understand it.
It's mysterious. It's...
And until you accept that...
This is important to me.
Katharine.
Cy...
Why can't you
accept that I have finished?
Because it's 600 pages long.
You expect me to publish
an encyclopaedia.
Father's
life was very complex.
Look, look, it is absolutely--
Oh no, don't not start now
with the bloody Niagara Falls--
Will the two of you stop!
Hm?
What are you doing here?
I live here.
What are you doing here?
I work here.
You work?
Yes.
You work for my father?
Well, yes.
Um, editor, yes.
Rudolph.
Editor? Editor!
It's Ralph, sir.
Oh, nonsense Rudy,
you're a Kraut.
By the way, this is my
daughter. This is Katharine.
Bear with me. No honestly.
He's here. He will assist you.
It's perfect. He's
done it A million times.
Sometimes you are impossible.
I wish you had said something--
He has got a whole
plethora of bestsellers.
That's what he does. You'll
thank me Honestly.
Rufus, follow
me. Whatever your name is.
Alright.
Follow me.
That went well.
Right, now, you recalcitrant
little bugger.
Let me have a look at you.
Mister.
Mr. Kit.
Reference..?
Reference... reference.
Lady Margaret,
could I come in?
Go away!
I'm coming in.
Blast!
Could
I-- could I...?
Shut the door!
So sorry.
Oh!
I thought
you said come in.
You're in now.
What
is it you want?
Ten. Ten minutes.
Well, I suppose
I should offer you tea,
but I don't do that
sort of thing.
I'm not here for tea.
I think I've discovered
a theory of variable stars.
Why do you think this
room is being emptied?
We had to send the telescope
back to the British Society
because my husband became
too ill to use it.
But you're co-signatory
on dozens of papers.
I know I--I've read them all.
Well, my husband
couldn't afford an assistant.
I'm applying to Cambridge for
physics and then astronomy.
I need a referee.
If it's astronomy you want,
then help your husband
with his studies.
Guide him, author him,
shape his ideas.
No, I can't. I can't
do that.
Oh, this one we wrote.
This one, well,
I pretty much wrote.
But "we wrote".
Nobody wants a woman in
science. Trust me.
Margaret,
I'm sorry it's been so
hard for you.
You can change things.
You're brilliant.
You'll find out soon enough.
Let's just
make... make it go away.
I would just
cut it, edit it...
Bring it down to size.
Mrs. Hilbery
seems capable.
If I hear
one more word
about a woman
being capable, I--
I suppose I could,
um, trim..? Edit?
Yes, yes, absolutely,
absolutely.
Make it, make it more, um...
...more short.
Short.
I want my wife back.
It'll all be
saintly hogwash anyway.
Wait!
I know what you're
doing. Cutting away.
What?
Her life's work, making
it all go away like men do.
Wait. You're engaged?
What's it to you?
Why are you so angry?
Her life's work.
Being passed around
like some screaming child
no one wants
anything to do with.
He doesn't care,
he just wants her
serving the tea
and ringing the bell
and cutting the flowers.
Being the wife.
You have this all wrong.
There are few choices here.
We always have a choice.
Do we?
You inveigled me.
What does that mean?
Rudolf?
What are you doing?
Come on, there's work to be
done. Chop chop.
It's Ralph, sir.
Come on, Rudy.
I think I
have done it.
And
then Denham said,
he said, imagine the elephant.
And I did, I did.
I started to see the trunk
and the ears, the, the horns.
First it
was almost as if
it was through mist or a fog.
And then all the writing
that shouldn't be in the work
just seemed to melt away.
Oh. What are
you talking about?
Good morning.
What--
Where is Rexy?
Rex is not here.
American Girl
discovers cosmic yardstick.
He said cut away
everything that
isn't-- elephant.
Everything that
isn't elephant. I'm free!
What elephant?
The book.
I've never,
I've never published....
No.
You're
thinking about ...
Do you see that?
No, no, he--
There's a knack
to peeling an egg.
Use your napkin,
Katharine.
Katharine,
will you--
No, let go. What on earth
are you doing..?
Stop it!
Look you...
No, no.
Look, you know
your father treats
that as his property,
and no one's
allowed to touch it.
You
actually ripped it.
MR. HILBERY & MRS. HILBERY:
I'm going to get
Rexy and clear up that egg.
There will be
other discoveries.
And at least it
was a woman.
Now it's bloody Christmas.
Come on, everybody
loves Christmas,
even an old communist like me.
You don't know the Otways.
They are a whole different
species. My kind of hell.
The Otways of Stogdon.
You know the Otways?
Well, in that case
I have a surprise.
I hate surprises.
Our first Christmas.
Ring ding-a-ling.
William...
Would you like a slice?
No.
May I have some
of those, oh.
Oh!
Dates aren't pitted.
No, I told you
not to bring the Stilton.
No one ever...
This is terrible.
I mean, it's not quite
runny enough.
Howdiddledo!
There she is. A
vision! A Fragonard!
This is my
cousin, Cassandra.
How do you do?
You are a
poet, are you not?
Oh, well-- I've written
a few verses,
some short stories. Dog...
Doggerel.
Come on.
It's a tiny car.
Shall I wait for
the second lift?
William
keep Cassandra
company like a good man.
See you shortly.
Oh, what fun.
Ah!
Cassandra like
the Trojan Princess...
I'm named after
William the Conqueror.
Oh, that's impressive.
The
engine's quiet.
Ah! Home sweet home.
So how much longer are we going
to give this, Katharine?
I'm getting a
little bit chilly.
Oh, this is a bit of
a damp squib.
Why don't you
come with me?
I'm going north for Christmas.
Will there be Stollen cake?
Probably not, but there
will be trifle.
What's trifle?
Cream and jelly and custard.
Okay, I'm coming.
Okay
Glorious, isn't she?
Copernicus, Newton
and Kit Hilbery.
CHILDREN & KATHARINE:
We'll all be dead next
time Halley pays us a visit.
Crickey!
And a great star
fell from the heavens.
Darling, which
side shall I look from?
And it burned
so bright like a torch
Yes, I know,
I'm keeping the...
And it fell onto a
third of all the rivers
and all the streams,
and there were no more.
Papa, did you see it?
I did. Rather
interesting. Hm.
Kit?
Kit?
Yes.
William
is very lovely.
You're so lucky.
He's sensitive.
Is he?
Kit.
Kit? We're cutting
the tree. Have you forgotten?
No.
No. I, uh, received
the invitation
to your publication party.
I don't receive
the invitation.
I don't want
to talk about it.
You are frazzling my nerves.
Can I let you in on
a little secret?
Yes.
I'm thinking of writing
a Christmas Limerick.
Pray tell.
What now?
Yes.
I wonder, I wonder,
and I ponder
as I grow fonder of a
young lady called...
Funny how one can let
the muse carry one away.
Christmas does that to one,
doesn't it?
So, it does.
Cyril.
Oh, Cyril.
Cyril.
I didn't know
he was coming.
Cyril.
I'm going to beat you.
My saviour.
Oh, thank God.
You used me as a reference.
What?
Hello little ones, I've got
some treats for you inside.
I'll see you in there.
No.
What? You have
an interview.
Kit, Katharine,
you have an interview.
Well, well.
The prodigal son returns.
Father.
Welcome home, son.
Well, I shall have them
set one more place for dinner.
Cyril, how lovely to see you.
Katharine must be thrilled.
Seasons-- Greetings,
Cyril.
Cyril.
I'm so sorry.
You were my only option.
You got an interview.
Look.
Yes, it's that scary
woman from the meeting.
Surprise. This is my
brother, the Vicar.
Did I ever tell you I
love carols?
Me too.
A daughter
to be married.
Really
is such a bore
that one can only marry once.
What?
Please be seated.
We are
gathered here today
to celebrate the birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus was an
Immaculate conception.
And this makes us ponder
the concept of enjoyment.
This is my third
Christmas lunch.
Your third?
Yes.
Oh, very good.
For indeed. Where does it
say that our Lord was thin?
Kit, you're so busy
looking at the stars,
you can't see what's right
in front of you.
Be generous,
super generous.
Francis, Francis... Desist.
Get off. The last thing we need
is another Nancy at the table.
What's a Nancy.
What?
Oh, son forgive me, I misspoke.
Oh, no. Well, no. More of a
Freudian slip. Nanny.
I mean, we don't need another
nanny at the table.
But good question.
What is a Nancy?
Anyone?
Boy wants to know.
Anyone?
Well, in France, it's a city.
A Nancy is someone
that runs off to Vienna
simply to be with
all the other Nancys.
Whereas a man,
a man, he stands tall.
Shoulders back
and his head held high.
A man is prepared to
do his duty.
A man is prepared to go to
war for his family,
for his country.
Well, a
Nancy can't do that.
Because a Nancy isn't a man.
Oh, somebody
realises I'm
talking about them.
Surprised
I know, I'm sure.
Is it true?
I thought you knew.
I'm convinced that life
is only meaningful
when it is motivated by
a great idea.
And in my case
that is love, father.
Poppycock.
Everyone has a right
to that, father.
When we read what
we want, when we... love
who we want, when we know
what we want,
only then will we
truly be free.
I should sit down
if I were you.
Cyril.
Let him go. He
didn't want to be here anyway.
I think it's
time for dessert.
He slipped.
He Freudian slipped.
For heaven's sake.
Has something happened?
Cyril! Cyril.
Cyril,
what are you doing?
Cyril, Come
on. Are you all right?
What are you doing? Come on!
Come on, get up.
Cyril, stop it.
Stop. Get up.
Help!
Cyril is dead.
No!
Somebody's
coming, my love.
George has sent
for a doctor. Come on.
Doctor's coming.
Come.
Come on. Come on.
Oh, my love come.
Somebody's coming.
Look, somebody's coming.
Oh my girl, there.
He was my north star.
We have entrusted our
brother Cyril to God's mercy,
And now commit
his body to the ground,
earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.
We shore in certain hope of
the resurrection
to eternal life through our
Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform
our frail bodies
so that they may be conformed
to his glorious body, who died,
was buried, and rose
again for us.
To him, be glory forever
and ever. Amen.
Amen.
I can't.
Take your glove off.
That's not what I mean.
What?
I can't marry you.
Oh! Yes.
Hm.
Of course your father
won't be happy.
Let's not tell him for now.
You...
You! The cousin.
Come in.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I couldn't see what
was right in front of me.
Why didn't he tell me?
He wanted to.
Was he afraid?
No.
He was love.
You understand, it's
quite the opposite.
He tried to
tell me about you,
but I wouldn't listen.
When people spat
at us, when they swore.
He said, it was their jealousy
that made them do it.
When they punched us,
he would tell me that they're
the ones that are hurt.
He was so brave.
He was generous, he was kind.
He--
he was magnificent
in his love.
He'd say that
life is but a sigh.
See, I never knew
what he meant.
Life is but a sign.
My problem is now I
can't ask him.
Nothing you can wrap
your head around
means anything without love.
He'd want you
to have this.
I can't take that.
Please, I'm
going back north.
Mr. Hilbery.
Yes.
Mr. Kit Hilbery.
Yes.
But-- My dear girl,
this is the physics tripos.
I applied here.
It's the physics tripos.
I suppose, as you've
come all this way.
Sit, please.
Your pure mathematics paper
was elegant. Impressive.
Self-taught?
Libraries taught me
and I taught myself.
And now for your other essay.
Some thoughts on
standard candle stars
and the size of the universe.
Yes.
We'd
be very small.
Only we're not.
That's
very entertaining.
Assuming that all
variable stars in a nebula
are of similar
actual brightness,
those that are dimmer
must be further away.
We've all read the
Swann-Leavitt paper.
Of course.
How you extrapolate to-to
what you think
is the true size of
the universe?
The mathematics is sound.
The
outcome is not.
We'd be a pinprick
in the galaxy,
surrounded by who knows
how many others.
Yes.
Science is based
on the best available guess.
Grounded in fact.
Not wild
impossibilities...
Plucked from the skies.
At least this is what
we teach here.
I have plates.
And...
...calculations
to prove my thesis.
We have our own
Cambridge telescope.
I know my scope is not
strong, I know it's too small.
Anyway, we don't
let women use the scope.
No lavatories.
What?
- No lavs!
- Lavs.
It's men only.
You mean toilets?
Women don't
direct their own research.
I could build one?
I could build one,
if lavatories
are such impediments
to progress.
And I could build
the Taj Mahal.
But
frankly, I don't have the time.
Please
stop wasting ours.
Thank
you very much.
What was
she thinking?
No more precarity.
You're wrong.
I'm going to study,
and women will come
to this college
as surely as the earth revolves
around the sun.
And so it moves.
One day, scientific
advances will prove me right.
We are tiny, much smaller than
we could ever think we are.
We are nothing, a speck,
a mote of dust in this great
mystery of a universe
throwing gigantic white rabbits
from its hat.
One day,
all of this will vanish.
All of this... this brick and
mortar and prejudice and dogma,
all of it will vanish.
And there will be a new world,
and there will be
women in science,
and there will be
lavatories too.
And when there is, when we do,
you will think back on this day
and you will remember
that you destroyed a talent
wilfully, blindly,
because you would rather
I get married.
Just give me a chance.
Don't be stuck in the
last century chaps.
Women are coming to Cambridge.
Now or in the future,
but it will happen.
Gentlemen.
Good luck.
There will be other
chances, other ways.
The art of humanity bends
towards equality.
It will happen.
You coming?
Mama.
Ah, Kit.
We are nearly there.
And we found a title.
Mr. Denham,
will you tell her
what elephant is in Persian?
'Fil', Mrs. Hilbery,
it is 'fil'.
Oh, 'fil'.
Here... was this?
You do right from
the heart Bess.
Yes, enter...
Hmm?
A letter for Miss
Hilbery, sir.
Oh.
Thank you.
University of Cambridge.
Mr. Herbert.
I hate parties.
This-this
is-- I'm not--
I will not
tolerate any more of this.
Do you remember the
breeches at Christmas?
Oh? Yes.
They say she's
one of them.
Uncle.
Katharine.
She has such a melodious
and whimsical personality.
Katharine.
I was like that once.
Were you?
Yes.
Rudy, have
you seen my daughter?
Bad news, sir.
Bad news.
You could say that.
More female bloody lunacy.
Look. Peruse that.
Mr. Herbert, I have
a good side.
Amazing.
You must be proud.
Proud?
Abject
disobedience.
Have you seen Katharine?
Briefly.
Where?
Where is she?
She passed by. Perhaps
she was going to get changed.
I'm very keen for...
Ah. Mr. Hilbery--
Katharine.
Is this angle appealing?
I do need to sit down.
Rodney, Rodney!
Ah, come over here.
You and Katharine must be front
and centre. Absolutely.
Sir?
Yes
I'm afraid that events have
somewhat overtaken us.
What?
Katharine is like a sister
to me.
Rodney, this is not
the appropriate moment.
I just don't have the
time for this.
Please please.
No need
for practice.
If you could just
move to the side please.
No, this is not
the correct position.
No, I don't mind.
You just sit here.
No, you
can't be there--
Please.
Together now,
just once.
You adventurer!
You two faced weasel mongerer!
To use
my daughter!
To ruin my good name.
Good heavens, Terry.
We will discuss this later.
Together now.
Just once.
Where
have you been?
Hello.
Good boy.
Good boy.
Can you see Rex?
Yes. Please, together now.
Ralph!
Would you
please get in the photograph?
For Katharine.
We are no longer engaged.
You should give it to her.
And do not move!
Anybody moves, they die.
Together
now, just once.
Katharine.
I'm just
trying to organise everybody!
And one...
Sir, can I just say,
I've always had the utmost...
And two...
And...
Yes!
Is the dog dead?
Oh!
Oh, dear God!
False alarm.
I know
many of you have
waited a long time for this.
Yes.
My father was a great
man of letters.
I am a mere woman of fictions.
No one knew father better.
I have all the facts.
And yet what I know--
Yes, yes, speak.
I hazard that biography
really is a kind of fiction.
It was this young man.
Yes, Mr. Denham, my editor, who
told me truth isn't singular.
No one owns it.
Everyone has
their own version of it.
Yes!
And thanks to this young man,
I wouldn't change a word of it.
Everyone's truth is the house
they live in.
Mr. Denham, please, please.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Katharine.
Seems you've enchanted Mama.
Thank you everyone. Thank you!
Is it impossible for
you to imagine
that a man may want to support
a woman's success?
Look at her.
A man dazzled her,
and then it took her 28 years
to discover her genius.
I can't afford it.
You underestimate
yourself, Katharine.
Thank you!
Call me Kit.
Congratulations, Kit.
It's what I always wanted.
It can't
wait anymore.
We will speak anon. Not now.
I can't, I can't speak now.
Congratulations.
Well done.
I gave you a decent
home, a decent education.
A half decent fianc.
You've torn me apart.
Do you think a man wants to be
with a woman who works?
Times have moved on
since you met Mama.
Your mother has been a
grand success.
Yes, she is.
Oh!
My darling.
Oh well, shall we frame it?
We could put it in
the lavatory.
Hmm.
What an honour.
Yes, time passes.
Where are you off to?
Half term. Kelso. I always do.
Just me, mummy and the dogs.
Lovely, I will be
dreaming of sun but I'll be
knee deep in books.
Swot. Have fun Kit, it
might suit you.
Ha, Ha.
He seems a respectable match.
What are you doing here?
I came to see you.
Oh!
Follow me.
I wanted to say
I'm going to Persia.
You mean goodbye?
Luckily I speak Farsi
enough to be useful.
I volunteered to
map the Daar bin Sar.
That sounds a lot.
They're
rounding up Germans.
What a mess.
Daar bin Sar.
They have an
observatory there.
I know. I thought
about you, a lot.
You did?
I was wrong.
Wrong?
Love didn't factor
into my calculations.
Love?
I think that's what Cyril
was trying to tell me.
I don't want
to discount my--
You won't.
That's the tussle, the tangle
in my heart.
Well...
Let me know who wins.
I will.
Your face.