The Theory of Everything: Not Quite Everything, But Certainly More Than We Bargained For

When director James Marsh chose to tackle a biopic about Stephen Hawking, this could have sounded, to the uninitiated, as the most boring idea possible. But with some great performance and a powerful story of actual human interest, The Theory of Everything is certainly worth a viewing.

Premise: The tragic and triumphant life and love of Stephen Hawking. Result: A beautiful and often tragic story about life, love and overcoming the impossible.

The film follows Cambridge graduate student Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) as he attempts to find his calling – that idea that will drive his research, his dissertation and ultimately his life. He works hard to consider his options, challenged by professor Sciama (David Thewlis) at every turn.

Simultaneously, while at a party with his best-friend and roommate Brian (Harry Lloyd), he encounters what would be a great love in his life, Jane (Felicity Jones). Their courting is intense, their love genuine, and it is not long before wedding bells are on the horizon. Amidst clever quips and charming moments, it may have been enough for this to be a simple love story.

And it may have been, if Hawking had not fallen victim to Lou Gehrig’s disease, a debilitating nerve condition that renders the victim incapable of movement and communication. It is tragic, but theirs is a love stronger than any horror, and evidenced by the incredible list of progeny (3 kids? In his condition? Wowsers!)

But so is the question at the center of the film. It is not only a review of Hawking’s career, his brilliant mind and its ability to conquer his affliction, it also centers on love and sacrifice, and how circumstance can affect this love, challenge, and even ruin it. Like the tragic story Like Crazy, another film about bad timing and its deleterious effects, ours is the helpless observation of ill-fated attempts at happiness.

The film doe a remarkable job of constructing obstacle after obstacle by juxtaposing The Hawkings’ successes, with their many failures. They are, at the end, humans, albeit unique and admirable ones. Unlike other films that deify protagonists, this film is as important for the triumphs of its characters, as for their weaknesses.

The performances are certainly a major element of this film’s charm. Redmayne is wonderful, not only holding his own among a strong cast, but stealing scene after scene, when in many cases he doesn’t even speak. It is a testament to how far he has come as an actor that a largely silent performance, with hardly the use of his limbs at all, could be so rich with nuance and power.

Jones, for her end, is equally powerful. She plays a woman at the height of happiness, who becomes trapped and suffocated in a marriage she is ill-equipped to support. Matched only by her tenacity, a quality Hawking admired, Jones is brilliant in the range of her emotions.

In the end, The Theory of Everything is a good movie, well-acted, executed and with far more story than expected. It does suffer from some ponderous moments and a run time that at times approximates the feel of a lecture on astro-physics, but fortunately there is enough that goes right here to make it one of the year’s best films.

Rating: 8 – An expensive red wine and juicy steak