I was really enthused about watching THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, the Stephen Hawking biopic featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Eddie Redmayne. I had previously watched and loved the excellent IMITATION GAME with Benedict Cumberbatch, and was hoping for something similar. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that this movie features Hawking as a supporting character while his wife takes centre stage. The reason is that it's adapted from a book that Hawking's wife wrote.
No offense to Mrs. Hawking, but I have little interest in seeing her life and the cheesy Mills and Boons moments with Charlie Cox (as much as I like him) play out. I want to see Hawking, and I want to hear about his theories on the universe. There's little to no science present here, leaving the experience oddly hollow. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING's saving grace is Redmayne himself, who delivers a gruelling, exhausting, incredibly accurate portrayal of a man gripped by disability and defying the odds at every turn; he fully deserved his Oscar and gives the best portrayal of disability I've seen in a movie since INSIDE I'M DANCING. It's just a pity that, Redmayne aside, the film is quite average.
The Theory of Everything
2014
Action / Biography / Drama / Romance
The Theory of Everything
2014
Action / Biography / Drama / Romance
80% - Critics
84% - Audience
7.7Keywords: biographybased on true storybased on a true storyhusband wife relationshipbased on memoir or autobiography
Plot summary
The Theory of Everything is the story of the most brilliant and celebrated physicist of our time, Stephen Hawking, and Jane Wilde, the arts student he fell in love with while studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. Little was expected from Hawking, a bright but shiftless student of cosmology, after he was given just two years to live following the diagnosis of a fatal illness (ALS) at 21 years of age. He became galvanized, however, by the love Jane Wilde, and went on to be called the "successor to Einstein," as well as a husband and father to their three children. Over the course of their marriage, however, as Stephen's body collapsed and his academic renown soared, fault lines were exposed that tested the resolve of their relationship and dramatically altered the course of both of their lives.
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Oddly hollow
great performances in sepia tone biopic
In 1963 Cambridge, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) meets Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) at an university party. Professor Dennis Sciama (David Thewlis) tries to push him. Then he takes a fall. He's diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease and given 2 years to live. She marries him anyways and they have 3 children. She brings in music teacher Jonathan (Charlie Cox) to help.
This is a fairly simple inspirational story but it's done very well. It allows for simple scenes like the wheelchair scene to breathe and exist. There's also the tremendous work done by Redmayne. Felicity Jones gets the less flashy role but just as impressive of a performance. The science is explained simply. The personal story is touching and surprisingly deep. The movie is a little light and a bit sepia tone. It could have been harder-hitting but this version of biopic works well enough.
Your glasses are always dirty.
One might think that this movie would be about esoteric theories that are beyond the capacity for most people.
You would be so wrong!
This was probably the best love story I have ever seen. I was on the edge of my seat watching Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones) as she did more and more amazing acts of love for Stephan Hawking (Eddie Redmayne). I cannot imagine anyone that fits the definition of love more than she did.
Redmayne was brilliant as Hawking.
Anthony McCarten took Jane Hawing's book and wrote a screenplay that was a thrill to watch.