The Theory of Everything (2014)

The Theory of Everything is an extremely moving love story concerning the brilliant British scientist Stephen Hawking and his first marriage. Whilst you may need a PhD in Physics to understand the intricacies of Hawking's theories (which by coincidence I have and – no – it's not enough) the lack of any sort of Physics knowledge is not a barrier to enjoying this movie.

Starting in 1963 when Hawking is starting his PhD studies in Cambridge University, the story picks up with the geeky and socially inadequate Hawking as he sparks a (rather unlikely) relationship with the extremely attractive Jane (Felicity Jones from "The Invisible Woman"). If this segment of the film had a hashtag it would be #punchingabovehisweight. Greatly encouraged by his mentor Dennis Sciama – generally seen as the father of modern cosmology and played by the ever reliable David Thewlis – Hawking develops his extraordinary theories (and counter-theories) in the hot-house of a 1960's Cambridge. Fate cruelly steps in though with Hawking developing the Motor Neuron Disease with which he is now famously associated. Given he was given just 2 years to live, he clearly has a private black hole somewhere to have warped time for the last 60+ years! As biopics go, this is an exceptionally good one. Eddie Redmayne's Hawking is just mesmeric. Hawking himself, on being given the opportunity to see the film before its world premiere, commented that at times he thought he was watching himself. The depths of physical and emotional acting Redmayne displays with this performance has to be seen to be believed, and I will personally eat my hat if Redmayne does not get at least an Oscar nomination for this part. (And who wouldn't want to see Hawking himself roll out to announce an award at the Kodak theatre!).

Felicity Jones is also outstanding in the role of Jane. The film is based on Jane Hawking's own book although screenwriter Anthony McCarten has taken a few liberties with the life story for dramatic effect. As referenced above, Hawking has seen the film and he was reportedly so moved that he shed a tear and then offered the use of the actual audio from his speech synthesizer for the film. So in this sense, Hawking narrates his own dialogue in the latter half of the film, which is quite a coup.

Supporting actor parts are also great from an ensemble cast with Simon McBurney ("Magic in the Moonlight", TV's "Rev") as Hawking's father, Harry Lloyd as Hawking's university friend Brian and Charlie Cox as the 'family friend' Jonathan being particularly effective.

The director is James Marsh, best known for his gripping documentaries "Man on Wire" and "Project Nim", and the cinematographer Benoît Delhomme ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas") realising a wonderfully nostalgic vision of 60's Cambridge. Also notable is the beautifully fitting music by Islandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson - I fully expected this in the credits to be the omni-present Alexandre Desplat, but for once I was wrong! So a 'must see' in the run up to the Oscar season, but one to take lots of tissues to if you are affected by emotional films: this one seemed to be particularly impactful on the females in the audience - perhaps because it tells the love story from the perspective of Jane - with my wife virtually in tears throughout! (Or maybe that's just because the realisation has finally struck that she's been married to a PhD physicist for 30 years??!

Fmovies: I've read scientists are turned off by this film for its omissions, simplifications, falsities, and other failures to explain Prof. Hawking's theories. I can understand that, being a law specialist who can't watch law dramas. But if you're not a cosmologist or a physicist you should not be discouraged by the film's failure to give you enough detail for a two credit course. It's a good drama of people, a bit schmaltzy as befits the facts, and in that regard I understand it's pretty accurate, and is definitely well acted and directed. Also a nice glimpse of what Oxbridge life was like in the 1950s. As they say, the male lead is Oscar bait.

But it does tell an inspiring story about Stephen Hawking's personal struggle with his illness that's very uplifting.

The story of Stephen Hawking and his then wife Jane, apparently based on a book she wrote about it, which probability explains why there was not much science in the movie, not that I'm complaining, as it was a well played film about a difficult relationship.

I didn't known Stephen and his wife actually met around the same time as he began to suffer from Lou Gehrig's Disease. Makes the whole concept that Hawking has three kids with this woman more interesting (something was working). Felicity Jones did a great job playing such a strong, patient, and compassionate woman, all well narrated in this movie. The difficulty Jane Hawking had being with a man getting trapped in his own body, played by Eddie Redmayne.I have herd of Hawking's surprisingly positive personality, not because of his condition, but because I expected his condition would make it hard to express any emotion. Redmayne did his research to express the struggle of Hawking on camera nicely (I keep forgetting The Hawking is a Brit).

This movie turned out to be a great one about the time span of a relationship. Done more romantically than borderline soft-core flicks like Blue is the warmest color and 9 songs, and it was not as depressing as Blue Valentine. it was just a true take on a complex relationship taking it's toll, well performed by some brilliant actors.

If your looking to watch this movie to hear some science talk, that's not what the movie is really about, unless ironically convincing the world of his theories on time was really as easy as the movie makes it out for Hawking. Overall very enjoyable.

The Theory of Everything fmovies. Before going into and seeing, The Theory of Everything, I really did not know too much about Stephen Hawking. I of course knew who he was and that he was a famous physicist for his work on black holes and other such matters and I had also seen video clips and photos of him, but really knew otherwise next to nothing about him and I have never actually read any of his books, but after seeing the film I am a little tempted and curious to do so, even if the subject matter does go over my head a bit (I both did poorly and did not enjoy high school physics class). On the other hand, those who go into The Theory of Everything, looking for an elaborate account of Hawking's work and his science and the method behind his work, then those people may be in for a bit of a letdown as this story while it does focus on Hawking's life, it mostly focuses on his long marriage and relationship with his wife, Jane, who wrote the book on which the film is based on. The film focuses heavily on the relationship between Stephen and his wife, Jane and the hardships they had to deal with due to his various health problems that he developed when they first become interested in each other till the present time. Eddie Redmayne, who plays Hawking, does a phenomenal job here. He starts out as a shy, somewhat bookish and nerdy student who has a fair bit of humour to him and also has a love of education and finding out the big questions and answers of the world. As his illness develops and progresses over the years, we see how hard it is for him to move, speak and just do everyday things whereas he is eventually confined to a wheelchair and has to speak through a computer. Redmayne's performance is so believable and must have been really hard to pull off as we see him struggle to eat, walk, speak and just how he twists his face and muscles and how much physical difficulty and pain is involved in this as well as his strong desire to succeed and to achieve more and more each day is evident in Redmayne's wonderful performance which must have been exhausting and difficult to play, but he does an excellent job here in what I think is one of the year's best performances. Equally good here is Felicity Jones, who plays Jane. While the role is not as demanding physically, it is more demanding emotionally as we see her totally devote herself to all of Stephen's every waking needs and how she went out of her way to both care and love for him. At times it was certainly difficult and I am sure she just wanted to give up, but we also as in him, see her determination to make things work and she is an incredibly strong person and character and you can see that everything she does has her full best and wonderful intentions. Her performance is an emotional one and is beautifully and brilliantly portrayed as well and is also one of the year's best performances. When the film first started out, I thought it would be a fairly safe and by the numbers biopic, but it really took me by surprise at how interesting I found these characters, their lives and the situations they found themselves in. Again because of the brilliant performances and masterful script and direction we can both care for and have empathy for these characters as well as personally cheer them on and wish all the best for them as we are sitting quietly in our theatre screens glued to the screen with captivation and interest. The film has an excellent pace to it and works well as a biographical film, but works even better as a story of love and the difficulties and sacrifices it took to make it wo

This film is highly recommended.

You can certainly tell it's Oscar time when all the more dignified and personal projects inundate the movie houses in hopes of capturing the gold. For most of the other nine months, we get lesser efforts and big blockbuster spectacles to fill-in until late October arrives. Then, it's time to get serious about our cinema choices. The Theory of Everything is one such film. It carries its pedigree with style and class, even if it is a rather conventional biopic in disguise, with its main character suffering through a debilitating disease while finding the stamina to go on.

With a very literate screenplay by Anthony McCarten and accomplished direction by James Marsh, the film tells the story of famed scientist Stephen Hawking and his battle with ALS. It also concentrates on his relationship with his supportive and loving wife, Jane.

Love will conquer all. Or so it should. But the horrors of this disease and the hardships they face seem unsurmountable. We see the couple meet, fall in love, marry, have children, and grow weary of each other. Stephen achieves adoration, fame, and fortune while Jane takes a back seat to her caregiver role and bringing up the family, amid the tears and frustration they face on a daily basis. One immediately empathizes with these characters due to their tragic situations.

The two leads are splendid and their acting is peerless. Felicity Jones plays Jane. Her role may be less showy and far more understated, but the actress is perfect at showing Jane's endurance and strength in the subtlest of ways. Eddie Redmayne is Stephen Hawking and his performance is literally trans-formative. (He must have learned his craft from tons of research about Hawking and creative influence from Daniel Day Lewis.) This is an impressive physical performance, from his black horn rimmed glasses to his walking cane and distorted posture. Both will receive well-earned accolades for their memorable work. Fine supporting work by Charlie Cox as Jonathan, their loyal friend, and Simon McBurney as Stephen's father add more clarity to the film.

As with most biographical films, one sees the rise and fall of the protagonist before it arrives. This film follows that tries-and-true formula. But Marsh's direction compensates for the linear structure and predictability of the story. The director relies heavily on his actors' subtle actions to tell more about their characters than the mere words they speak. He also wisely shows Hawking's point of view by angling the camera range from a lower stance or keeping it stationary to reinforce the characters' immobility. The final scene, recapping Hawking's life in reverse, beautifully sums up Stephen's life full circle in the most visual of terms.

But The Theory of Everything is foremost a love story. The film desperately wants to be a crowd-pleaser with an uplifting message of inspiration, even when the reality and truth of their actual lives is bleaker than it appears on screen. The film glosses over some factual content to play up the human drama of this pair of young lovers. It skillfully manipulates its audience to wallow in the heartbreak. Director Marsh successfully capture the pangs of young love and bittersweet romance in this emotionally involving film.

The Theory of Everything is an immensely satisfying film with stand-out acting and skilled direction. The proof is right there on the screen, even if the facts are slightly askew. GRADE: B+

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The Theory of Everything tells the uphill struggle that world renowned genius Stephen Hawking went through when dealing with his, now, infamous disease and trying to maintain his relationship with his loving wife, Jane. The strengths of this film rely solely on Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. These two actors are absolutely, one hundred percent, PHENOMENAL in these two roles. Stephen Hawking is the role that Redmayne was born to play. Hawking is portrayed as a charming and intellectually superior individual that behaves just like any one else. After a bit, we start to wonder what was every so amazing about him...then the heartbreak starts. Jane Hawking is a sweet, loving and determined person that will go to the lengths of the universe to make sure her husband, Stephen can survive. I get chills just thinking about certain scenes, some of which will most definitely be requiring a large box of Kleenex. The truth is, anything that I say here about these performances, no matter what it is, is still criminally underselling the sheer brilliance of them. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are simply incredible and I'd be even willing to go to the extreme to say that both actors will not only be nominated, but I'd be surprised if they didn't win the Oscar gold. Now, with that being said, this film's structural issues are severely hampering this film's chances at being a classic. I wasn't completely sold on the structural integrity of the film. It showed enough of the relationship aspect behind Stephen and Jane but it very briefly touched base on Hawking's intellectual discoveries and I thought that if it was a bit more balanced in that respect, it would be a near perfect film. One plot point that I did find utterly enthralling is the idea that Hawking struggles throughout the film to do simple things. These scenes are, by far, the most heart wrenching scenes to watch. James Marsh directs his actors effortlessly and can evoke the type of emotional response out of his audience through them, but when left with telling a story, Marsh falters. Marsh, known for 2012 IRA drama, Shadow Dancer proves that he is an actor's director. He cares about human drama over anything in a tangible sense, which benefits this film greatly but also harms it in the way of progression. Despite these minor infractions, The Theory of Everything is a film that everyone can enjoy and turns into a real audience movie. It is a film that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, no easy feat for any film, and this one does it effortlessly.