Particle Fever Film Review: A Documentary That Celebrates Discovery

Director Mark Levinson’s documentary brings to life one of the most elaborate and costly science experiments that has ever been carried out.

Director: Mark A. Levinson

Producers: David E. Kaplan, Mark A. Levinson, Andrea Miller, Carla Solomon

Featuring: Martin Aleksa, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Savas Dimopolos, Monica Dunford, Fabiola Gianotti, Mike Lamont

Directors of photography: Claudia Raschke-Robinson, Wolfgang Held

Running Time: 99 minutes

PARTICLE FEVER is a documentary, which follows the physicists involved in inventing, building and using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to discover the new particle, the Higgs Boson.

Although it is dealing with a very complicated subject, the film actually explains the science behind the experiment well enough. You’re not going to know everything there is to know about particle physics after watching Particle Fever, but you will have a good idea about why all of these scientists worked together for decades to reach this point.

The film follows six physicists from the scheduled startup of the CERN Large Hadron Collider to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson, the infinitesimal, hitherto-hypothetical cornerstone of the whole field of particle physics, and a key ingredient in the creation of the universe.

The audience see the largest machine ever built by man as it unites 10,000 scientists from 100 countries in excited, collaborative harmony, however, it is not without its challenges, as the collider is plagued by delays and malfunctions, which is conveyed well in the documentary as the scientists are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions. 

What is the reason for this invention? To try to understand the basic laws of nature, to discover the key particle that holds everything together and to identify particles scientists know are out there, but haven’t been seen. 

Through the lens of vet cinematographer Claudia Raschke-Robinson, the documentary not only gives you an insight into the lives of a handful of the scientists involved, it also portrays a great atmosphere amongst everyone who worked on the project.

Each person who discusses the project on camera explains why it is so important to them and a lot of them go into deeply personal reasons from their childhoods. This sort of insight shows how much emotion and heart is put into their investigations and creations in the scientific documentary, humanising the intelligent physicists involved. 

Overall, PARTICLE FEVER is genuinely an interesting documentary – even for those who don’t consider themselves to be too knowledgeable about the subject and it will certainly inspire scientific professionals and theorists alike.

You can find out more about watching the film here.

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