Review: Theory of Everything really has it all

The Theory of Everything

Directed by James Marsh; written by Anthony McCarten, based on the book “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen,” by Jane Hawking.

CAST: Eddie Redmayne (Stephen Hawking), Felicity Jones (Jane Hawking), Charlie Cox (Jonathan Hellyer Jones), and David Thewlis (Dennis Sciama).

Running time: 2 hours 3 minutes. Rated PG

Eddie Redmayne is fast becoming the ‘second’ British film actor of the moment. Benedict Cumberbatch being the ‘first’.  Fitting then that both men have played Stephen Hawking, Benedict in the 2004 TV film ‘Hawking’ and now Eddie in ‘The Theory of Everything’. Whilst there’s always a bit of Benedict in each of his performances it’s hard to see where there is any sameness in Eddie’s appearances in ‘My Week with Marilyn’, ‘Glorious 39’ and ‘Les Miserables’.  Let me be clear though I love Benedict, I lay claim to discovering him after seeing him in the TV series ‘The Last Enemy’ and raving about ‘this amazing guy’ to all who would listen.

Many of us have a copy of ‘A Brief History of Time’ on our bookshelves, barely opened and rarely understood. Often our copy sits next to our similarly neglected ‘Ulysses’ but we always promise ourselves to read them ‘one day’. One of the least read biggest bestsellers of our time it is the gateway to our recognition of the genius of Stephen Hawking and the familiarity with his medically challenging life story.  Barely in his 20s the Cambridge graduate learns he has Motor Neurone Disease (the much publicised ALS of the ice bucket challenge and also known in America as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and given just two years to live. Not biding his time in those two years he finished his doctorate and married Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones)- of course we know he continues to live many years past those two years and had three children to Jane.

The film draws mainly and primarily on Jane Hawking’s memoir, “Traveling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen,” and consequently it is the story of their marriage, Stephen developing his theory and the advance of his illness. It doesn’t seek to explain the theory in anything but a basic form (in fact to this dumbie I actually understood what he was theorizing, amazing)but shows us the man, husband and friend behind the genius and disability.

Cambridge and the period covered in the film are beautifully presented as well as the relationships and the impact of Motor Neurone on all involved. There is some lovely directing from James Marsh teasing out the story and an incredible, convincing performance by Redmayne. He shows the wit of Hawking combined with the razor sharp brain functioning in a slowly dis-functioning body. It is compelling to watch as he plays most of the time hunched over in a wheelchair in that familiar posture, his face muscles in a form of grinning rictus and showing his actorly skills through his eyes and slight movements of his face. Sure prosthetics and short shots aid the effect but it really does come down to the actor in this case, there is no doubt we are seeing Professor Hawking. Felicity Jones is beautiful and moving as Jane and there is more than competent support from Charlie Cox and David Thewlis. The latter actors prove that smaller roles are not necessarily minor roles.

I’m not sure that science students or nerds/geeks will be wholly satisfied by the focus of the film. I’m unconvinced that those who may not know of Hawking but go to see the film because of the hype will be any the wiser. They probably don’t get to understand why he is so famous, has graced so many magazine covers, been the subject of a couple of films and documentaries, been gonged by the Queen or had that (and other) bestseller. There is even some criticism about the science presented in the film – I don’t have the nouse to go into that.

All valid observations but it surely depends on the emphasis of a film, the angle the director chooses to present (or whether the source material provides the content required). For me as a film about an extraordinary human who copped a rotten deal health wise but much loved by a partner and friends and eventually contemporaries, students and readers it worked. It is quite simply a lovely, often funny, sometimes moving, almost always interesting movie. It has been made by an able movie maker and populated with actors who know their craft in a well told story.

Certainly the best of the year so far.

4½ out of 5