The THEORY OF EVERYTHING  3.5***

 

 

               Starring Eddie Redmayne  and Felicity Jones this is the extraordinary story of one of the world's greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (Redmayne), who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde (Jones). Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking receives an earth-shattering diagnosis of ALS ( Lou Gehrig’s disease)  at 21 years of age. The prognosis is that he will live only for about 2 years. Despite the devastating news, Jane insists that they marry. With Jane tirelessly fighting by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of - time. The movie  traces Hawking's gradual deterioration from walking with difficulty with canes, to crawling up the stairs, to being wheelchair bound, to losing his voice  and yet surviving and despite  the disease. The movie shows very effectively the terrific toll the disease takes not only on Hawkins but also on his wife who also has 3 of their children to rear.  

 

Eddie Redmayne has gotten (and will surely keep getting) a lot of well-deserved praise for the physical transformation of his performance ( favorably compared to Daniel Day Lewis), but what really makes his performance so compelling is how the actor expresses Stephen’s personality (his wit, his aloofness, his stubbornness) so effectively, regardless of the physical state of his character. Equally strong, though, is Felicity Jones playing Jane Wilde. Whereas Stephen’s struggles and complications are easier to comprehend due to his physical condition, Jones is able to communicate a multitude of conflicted thoughts and feelings with even the simplest of gestures or expressions. For sure, it’s these stars along with an excellent supporting cast that truly elevates this film into something quite special.

 

The story is ultimately an insightful love story/relationship that just happens to be about Stephen Hawking. By focusing  on their relationship, the movie only provides glimpses of Hawking’s genius and astounding scientific achievements, although it doesn’t dismiss them altogether. This was a disappointment to me in that I believe the film could have been even better if it had shown more of his brilliant mind and scientific achievements. But, nonetheless, it is an awe inspiring movie which is a beautifully filmed with one striking shot after another, often illustrating the way Hawking looks at the world such as playing off Hawking’s fascination with black holes… circles are a recurring motif — the swirl of cream in a coffee cup, the spinning of a bicycle wheel, an overhead shot of Hawking in his motorized wheelchair doing 360’s. It also includes little grace notes and unexpected details that don’t conform to an established formula. There is a fascinating  scene late in the film when a nearly immobile wheelchair-bound Hawking fantasizes about getting out of his wheelchair. Does he fantasize about giving a powerful speech in his own voice, or sweeping his love into his arms? No, he simply fantasizes about picking up a pen that someone has dropped on the floor. So simple yet so powerful.

 

Clark