A Drama Internalized

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2015)

I think Director James Marsh is successful in creating a drama out of pure internalization. Not a scene is this film that emotions are so visible. We do not see, but feel so much. This is why a film without so much plot can get away to become an art piece. What is best in this film is the sense of restraint, owing, I believe, to Mr. Marsh. He must have directed Eddy Redmayne and the rest of the cast to feel first and act later. Probably an act is not necessary, if you feel so accurately. I am always marveled by the English school of acting. Big or small screens. They do wonders with the mundane of lives in particular. While Americans look for something extraordinary, English instead eye for the normality, which always turns out to be not so normal. Professor Hawking, as well as his beloved Jane, come alive in this film. They are actually alive, and this film will ensure that they are, even after they no longer are. A scene of their breakup is amazing. Loving, painful, understanding, and heartbreaking. How can four feelings be incorporated into one scene, I still wonder? That's life, isn't it? Bittersweet at best, and always conflictual at extremes. If there is a caution for Eddy Redmayne, it is by way of being tied to the same or similar character. Felicity Jones, on the other hand, will continue to be versatile and multi-purposed. The Oscar-winning brand can also be a curse, one of which I wish all the best for our dear Mr. Redmayne.