Perfectly poignant

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2015)

Eddie Redmayne is already winning awards. He ought to scoop the lot. The gawky kid who charmed us in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN is now the geeky cosmologist who wins the heart of a girl at college, enjoys a happy life with her and their children and conquers the scientific world with his theories about the birth of the universe even as Motor Neurone Disease takes away his mobility and his speech, but not - against all the odds - his dignity or his humour.
Stephen Hawking is a scene-hogging role like Dustin Hoffman's in RAIN MAN, but Felicity Jones manages to steal some of his limelight much as Tom Cruise managed to steal from Dustin. Her Jane Hawking is believably impossibly perfect - the wife who lovingly supports her increasingly frail partner and then with exquisite discomfort falls in love with somebody else. There are no scenes of violence or vitriol: Stephen and Jane's love survives the collapse of their marriage. The supporting actors in this quiet drama are not big names, which lends their performances added conviction.
A more poignant story would be hard to imagine: triumph and tragedy delicately brought to life. There is no air of contrivance in this movie. Poignant and flawless.