Almost everything is great

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2015)

Quickie Review:
A young scientist named Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), is in search of finding a single unifying theory that explains everything about the universe. As ambitious as that sounds, it is made more challenging when he is diagnosed with motor neuron disease that will slowly take away his ability to move or speak. Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane (Felicity Jones) decide to fight the disease together, naive to the difficult journey that lies ahead. Based on the life of Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything showcases acting of impeccable quality. An inspirational story of a man that overcomes his disability to pursue his passion. At the same time a moving story about human flaws. Definitely one of the finer films of 2014 that must be seen.
Full Review:
Stephen Hawking is one of the most renowned scientist living today. Considering how he was able to continue his research despite the motor neuron disease makes his contributions all the more impressive. Such an inspirational man, and yet many (including myself) probably are not aware of his personal story. I had high expectations for this film, and now that I've seen it I agree that The Theory of Everything deserves all the Oscars attention it has been getting.
This is a wonderfully acted film by both Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. The movie covers Hawking's life from the 60's to the early 00's, so you get to see the disease progressively get worse. The way Redmayne shows the gradual effects over time was flawless. I'm not sure how he got his body and face to contort so accurately, but there were times where it felt like the real Stephen Hawking himself was on screen. The real brilliance of Redmayne's performance was not how he looked, but how he was able to emote through the limited range of movement and speech. He was able to show the vulnerability and the humor of Hawking convincingly even in the later stages of the disease. Felicity Jones' performance as Jane Hawking was crucial because her relationship with Stephen Hawking was the emotional crux for the entire film. Felicity Jones absolutely delivered, the emotional transformation that Jones' character goes through is just as impressive as Redmayne's physical change.
On the top of the acting caliber, I liked how the script handled the characters. After being together for decades, of course the disease starts to affect the marriage. The script and the director could've easily made the relationship problems seem one-sided, painting one of the two as being wrong. Instead the film treats Stephen and Jane Hawking as real human beings. A couple that was naive and flawed as any young couples are. Both are neither guilty nor innocent, but make very understandable and human mistakes. This ultimately made the film delightfully relatable and emotionally impactful. I have to mention how beautiful the soundtrack for the film was. Instantly from the opening scene the evocative music brought goosebumps to my skin. I have loved Johann Johannsson's music in the past and this might be some of his best work yet. I am glad he is getting the recognition he deserves.
All in all, I highly recommend The Theory of Everything. Some people are bothered that it is not a completely accurate story, to those people may I mention that Stephen Hawking himself has said it's "broadly true" and reacted positively overall. So the film also got a seal of approval from Hawking. In the end movies are meant for entertainment and not a high-school textbook. In that sense not only was The Theory of Everything entertaining, it was a deeply moving.
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