Even the most brilliant of minds can find themselves set against impossible odds and probably the most obvious among this category would be Stephan Hawking. Diagnosed with ALS or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of twenty-one, he was given the life expectancy of two years but we all know that today he has shattered those expectations and many others. The Theory of Everything is a biopic about the life of the world renowned theoretical physicist and is adapted from the book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" which is the memoirs of Hawking's first wife Jane Hawking. The story tells the tale of the twos life together as they raised their three children and dealt with the challenges that came from his disease. It also gives viewers insights into the incredible mind of this man who has spent his life changing the way we view the universe and science in the pursuit of his finding the underline equation that defines life and our existence.
The story starts off with Stephan Hawking's (Eddie Redmayne) days at Cambridge College in England and gets right into the thick of things, skipping over any early days that bore no importants to his future endeavors. Redmayne portrays the lanky and clumsy young Hawking beautifully as he walks around campus and acts like any awkward teenager and many of the early signs of his ALS being dismissed by said awkwardness. We also see the Hawking was viewed as a bit of a slacker when he was younger, he was in one of the most prestigious colleges in the world and yet did not know which field of study he really wanted to get into. It does come together until his professor, Dennis Sciama (David Thewlis), sees his potential and takes him to a theoretical presentation by a famous mathematician and you see the spark start to ignite for Stephan Hawking.
While all this is happening though we also see that despite his, well let's face it "nerdy" appearance and presence, he attracts the young Jane (Felicity Jones) at a party the two were both attending, their eyes meeting across a crowded room and you instantly see the attraction the two had for each other. Jones also does an incredible job with her portrayal of Jane Hawking, she is peppy and full of life and is frankly the complete opposite of Stephan Hawking when you put the facts out there and they do in the movie. At the time she is studying Medieval Spanish poetry while he is studying cosmology, she is a member of the Church of England and he is an atheist who doesn't quite understand the concept of a God figure. Despite all this, the two bring out the best in one another in their early days but the future proves to be a challenge, one that Jane was ready to face and even states it to Hawking's father. Her tireless work in later days is done masterfully as Jane struggled to raise the three children that they shared while taking care of Stephan as his health deteriorated more and more, without much help either.
The future did seem to be all ahead of the two, it was sort of like a fairy tale sort of romance as it's presented but a dose of realism sets in when Hawking takes a spill on campus and is diagnosed with his ALS. The first few years for the two go well enough but the stress of raising three children and the challenged Hawking strains Jane to a degree that most people would not have made it through. It was probably the British in her. We see Stephen's body weaken to the state where he ends up getting a motorized wheel chair and eventually the life changing surgery that would claim his voice and lead to the computerized voice device he uses today. However, this does not stop Hawking in the slightest, in fact one of my favorite parts of the movie is when Jane leaves Hawking with a sweater over his head to help their son. The event leaves Hawking starring through the stitching of the sweater and starring at the fire place which leads to his earlier theory on black holes. Hawking's ALS never stopped his mind from working and growing stronger and if anything it broadened his mind even more and continue to shatter everyone's expectations.
From here we enter into the late days of Stephen's and Jane's life together, the two definitely see a sort of separation during the film and neither are really at fault for it. Over the years the two must have struggled horribly and one of the most obvious points for this is when Stephen first loses his voice and needs to communicate using a letter board. The voice box would not come for some years later I imagine. We see Jane teary eyed and broken over the strain of taking care of Stephen for so long and he also becomes upset over all the hard work and sacrifice that she has had to make for him. The two each find separate comforts, Jane early on rejoined the church and began singing in the choir and finds an attraction for the pretty boy choir leader Jonathan Jones (Charlie Cox). Jonathan spent a few years as a sort of caretaker for Stephen and helped the family during their struggles and even though nothing seemed to happen between him and Jane until their divorce, the two had a strong attraction to one another. We also have Hawking who finds enjoyment in the company of his therapist and caretaker Elaine (Maxine Peake) who regards him in the highest regards and spent many days close to him but again it doesn't seem anything came of it during Jane and Stephen's marriage. It is an awkward part of the film and while I didn't care for it, I did respect how it was handled, neither side is slandered for their attractions and it was brought forth with dignity.
If a complaint could be made by myself, it would be that the film focuses far too much on the relationships of Stephen Hawking's life. It seems like a movie about Hawking would focus more on the science and his work but most of what occurs later on screen seems like a drama about Jane Hawking more than a biopic about Hawking. Even in a movie based on facts you can still pump up the emotional distress to a point where it feels a little too unrealistic and that's how it feels sometimes. If the directors were worried about the science behind Hawking's work not being interesting enough, perhaps that was the reason for this fluffing up nonsense, then I have news for them because how his work was presented was wonderful. Redmayne and Jones were also brilliant in their portrayals of the couple, Redmayne was able to bring out the tiniest inklings of Hawking's ALS perfectly and Jones gives an inspiring and strong presence to Jane as she struggled to take care of her family and seek out her own pursuits too. If the rest of the movie shined as much as their performances then we would have had a truly phenomenal film.
Good:
- Redmayne and Jones are spectacular
- The work of Stephen Hawking was presented amazingly and truly inspires
Bad:
- The over dramatic romance angle of Jane Hawking
Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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