Great drama with minor flaws

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2015)

"The Theory of Everything" is often advertised these days as the new must-see movie on Stephen Hawking. However, it is as least as much about his wife Jane Wilde, especially given the fact that the screenplay is based on Wilde's book. This screenplay scored also one of the movie's five Academy Award nominations and has a true shot at winning, just like Redmayne and Jóhann Jóhannsson's music. Felicity Jones probably has no chance at winning her nomination as she just has the less showier part compared to Redmayne. The film is directed by James Marsh and you may have seen his Oscar-winning documentary "Man on Wire".
I felt that the movie worked best when it was a full drama. Unfortunately, they included lots of humor to make it a lighter film in contrast to Hawking's struggles and doubts. Because of the tryhard humor, I cannot put it as one of my favorite films of the year. However, it is an interesting depiction of how a relationship can end and still both partners find happiness with their new love interests. The audience won't mind either as both new partners were presented as extremely likable throughout the film, long before they actually got together with their persons of interest. Also, as you probably guessed, the movie is not too deep in terms of Hawking's studies as it would simply have become too difficult to understand for broad audiences. Instead, we get to see the struggles that most of us also try to cope with in everyday life: relationships, health, friendships etc.
My favorite scenes include the one near the end where he takes the pen and gives it to the girl who maybe suffers from the same disease (in an early stadium) that he has. Another one would be the struggles with Jane as she tries to teach him how to speak without his voice with the help of colors and she realizes she may not succeed. The other woman succeeds right afterward pretty quickly, which shows us that she may be the one. And finally, I also loved the scene when Jones' character tells about how she will stay with him, even if it is only two years.
I also liked Eddie Redmayne in "Les Misérables", a great film, so I'm happy he is getting all the awards recognition, even if I would probably not include him as one of the best performances of the year. McConaughey won last year for playing a character who was told he has only very little time to live, but it turned out he had much more. Same description fits Hawking in this film. Will Redmayne get the Oscar or can Keaton make a comeback? I have not seen "Birdman" yet, so can't say who I would prefer. Funnily enough, Redmayne is up against Benedict Cumberbatch who probably gave the most seen Hawking performance before "The Theory of Everything". Finally, a shoutout to David Thewlis who stayed in mind most from all the supporting players here. Good performance, but that's pretty much a given with him. By the way, the real Stephen Hawking, over 70 now, keeps appearing on "The Big Bang Theory these days.