Blatant Oscar-porn but Redmayne and Jones save the furniture

Rating: 6/10 (16 January 2015)

Within six minutes I had suspicions that The Theory of Everything was the most blatantly Oscar-baiting biopic I've ever seen, and the rest of the film didn't do much to change my mind. The whole film is rather tedious and unremarkable, which is a tragedy considering its subject matter is one of the most remarkable men in history. Life and reality is glossed up to a fine sheen, which makes for some nice viewing if you don't dig too deep into what really happened.
It is criminal that its screenplay has been nominated for an Oscar over more deserving screenplays in Pride, A Most Wanted Man and Gone Girl. Just when I thought the film was about to excel into something special, it hit a biopic cliché or a scene that felt exactly like it was written for the trailer. The montages were my least favourite part - cliché arrangements of key events that prevented the lazy filmmakers from having to put much effort into developing the story. More laziness is shown when no effort is made to make Jones look older as time passes - when she's meant to be in her 40s she still looks like she did at University. A new hairstyle doesn't mark the passage of time.
Most of the cast are completely forgettable, but Redmayne and Jones save the film and push it just above "waste of time" status, but its a shame they didn't have as strong a chemistry as one might hope. Felicity Jones is absolutely adorable and she puts on a beautiful performance as the long-suffering and miserable wife Jane. In spite of the hype, Eddie Redmayne kills time for the first twenty minutes or so until he gets into the illness stage. Here is where we see something special - I honestly forgot i was watching an actor, and I found myself saying "whats the big deal" until I caught myself. He is a remarkable transformation throughout the movie, playing the part respectfully but convincingly. The "I have tried" scene towards the end of the film is easily the best moment for each actor and was the closest the film came to having an emotional impact. However, whilst The Theory of Everything is a fairly good film, it could have been something very special if it was in more daring and experienced hands.