Hopeful, illuminating and masterfully crafted

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2014)

I had high hopes for "The Theory of Everything", but it also had me worried. The plot of this film is based on the book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" by Jane Wilde Hawking and tells the story of how the author and her husband, famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, met and what their marriage and life together was like. I had some reservations about the movie initially because most of the people featured in the film are still alive, but the film is not a documentary. Could it be that they had such a compelling story to tell, and that the actors were just so talented that waiting any longer would have been a waste of time? This movie feels like one in a million. Not only in terms of overall quality, but also because it feels like all the stars have aligned and the people working here were all present at the right place, at the right time. If they hadn't seized the moment and made this movie, they would have missed a great opportunity. For some, the highlights will undoubtedly be the earth-shattering performances or the retelling of real-world events in such a frank and honest way, but for me it was what the movie was really about that had me hooked. This movie is about the life of Jane and Stephen Hawking, but what it's really about is people being prisoners of their own lives and how they manage, as best they can to escape their cells. What do I mean by this? Well, I don't think it's a spoiler when I tell you that real-life smart guy Stephen Hawking suffers from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The man is trapped in his own body, barely able to move and presently, unable to talk except through the use of a computer. The movie shows you his physical degradation and the struggles that this entails as he becomes completely immobile. As Stephen becomes trapped, his crippling condition bears down on others as well. His wife becomes his round-the-clock caretaker, a a prisoner of her own responsibilities. This film has two parallel stories as these two people, struggle to free themselves, or make the best of the cage they had unfortunately found themselves in and as other people enter their lives, they also become inmates in this prison. I really enjoyed seeing the connections between all of the people between the people in their lives, how many of them also, in a way, ended up being prisoners because of their choices (like Jane's choice to marry Stephen despite knowing that he is affected by ASL) or Stephen's disease. I'm certain that the film would have been effective if it had focused simply on Stephen or Jane, but by showing us both of these stories, you really come to understand these two people and you fall in love with them.
This movie could have dropped the ball in a number of ways, but I found that like any underdog story, it leaves you empowered and hopeful. Major credit is due to the two leads. The obvious actor to praise is Eddie Redmayne (fresh from the "X-Men" franchise) whose performance is so good it makes your average actor look like an amateur. Think about it. While at the beginning of the film we have Redmayne walking around and talking like your average guy, later the performance becomes much more subtle and much more difficult to pull off. You actually believe you're seeing the real-life Hawking because everything is bang on. The way his body is contorted on his wheelchair, the way he struggles with his words as the condition gets worse and in the end, the way that the tiniest movements in his only partially mobile face are used to convey real emotion are absolutely brilliant. I don't want you to focus solely on Redmayne though because Felicity Jones as his wife is just as good in a role that's even more complex. She convinces us that she's a woman that really loves her husband, but is in a way also mad at him for surviving the disease and robbing her of a normal life. I said earlier that this movie was about people being trapped; you almost feel worse for Jane because you see that she is a person that is both happy and sad at the same time, all of the time. Watching her, you can feel that she always has conflicting thoughts and emotions inside of her. All of her scenes are captivating.
To wrap this up, I'll just list some of the other praises I have. I thought the score complimented the emotions and themes superbly. I never felt like I was being manipulated, as much as what I was feeling inside of me was being reflected musically by composer Philip Glass. I found the film to be very moving, but also quite funny at times, reflecting the fact that Hawking retained his sense of humor despite everything that happened. I thought everything was bang-on and I didn't even mind that because of Redmayne/Hawking's slurred speech, I missed a couple of lines here and there. I liked how the movie felt genuine, showing nobody as a perfect saint and never erroneously assuming that we needed to have someone do some heinous act and branding themselves a villain. I thought the screenplay showed profound intelligence and that it looked quite beautiful thanks to cinematographer Benoit Delhomme. Finally, I admire director James Marsh for bringing it all together.
This film is sad at times, but more often than not it's very hopeful, very emotional and surprisingly, very funny. It really is something special and I bet the real-life Stephen and Jane Hawking would agree. Everyone's going to be saying this I'm sure, but watch out for this movie, you will be hearing about it again come Oscar season. (Theatrical version on the big screen, December 23, 2014)