Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – The Theory of Everything (Movie Review)

The Theory of Everything (UK Rating: 12A)

Scientists don't come more famous than Stephen Hawking, so much so that he's not exactly a stranger to the screen. Man of the moment Benedict Cumberbatch played him ten years ago in the TV movie Hawking and the 2013 documentary of the same name took a respectful, but unflinching, look at his life. His latest outing on the big screen, though, takes a different approach.

The Theory of Everything is a love story, focusing on the relationship between Hawking and his first wife Jane. It moves from their initial meeting and their polar opposite views on religion, through their marriage and three children and their final separation. Between those events come others of equal, if not greater, significance: Hawking's shattering diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease and the prognosis that he had only two years to live; his PhD and growing status in his field; his deterioration, culminating in the loss of his voice, and its replacement with the electronic one that has become his trademark; and, finally, the best seller that made him a household name.

The romantic element is woven through the very fabric of the film so that Hawking is shown very much through rose-tinted spectacles. He's an inspirational figure, that's true, but here he's also an idealised one: he only has a few moments of sadness and just one of anger. Apart from that, he soldiers on bravely with a twinkle in his eye, and there are moments of comedy as well, especially when he first gets his computerised voice and starts doing Dalek impersonations. The result is a slightly lopsided depiction of the man, but that doesn't take anything away from Eddie Redmayne's performance in the role - it's a genuine star turn.

Felicity Jones is equally impressive as his wife Jane, a taxing role but in a completely different way. She is as determined as her husband, fiercely loyal and intensely loving, yet to the outside world she can appear cool and formal. Everything is going on underneath the surface and she's especially convincing when the stress of her husband's condition brings her to the brink.

The story is told in a straightforward manner, with the minimum of flashbacks and only a smattering of astrophysics for the science nerds in the audience. There are, however, moments of real imagination. The moment when Hawking gets inspiration for one of his theories works perfectly, for instance. He's struggling to put on a jumper, gets stuck halfway, and finds himself looking through the garment at the living room fire; it's a little stroke of genius.

8/10

Great - Silver Award

The romantic, idealised tone of The Theory of Everything makes the audience wonder what they are not being told about Hawking's early years and marriage - there has to be more to it than what's on the screen. That said, it is a very well made piece of cinema that is full of warmth, compassion and intelligence, but, ultimately, there are two real reasons for seeing it: they are called Redmayne and Jones.