Theory of Everything Illuminates Little

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2014)

I was never much of a scientist growing up. Not because I didn't find the answers to the complexities of the natural world fascinating but because I was never patient enough to do much of the leg work. The forming of hypotheses, the testing, the recording of data the rigorousness of the scientific method etc. I much rather read about the newest discoveries than dedicate eons discovering them myself.
The Theory of Everything (2014) is much like the rushed scribbles of scientific data I jotted down in grade school. There's a modicum of passion and a dollop of research but ultimately there's not much behind it. At best it's a straight-forward, paint-by-the-numbers biography with a little directorial flare and two very strong performances by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. It's reminiscent of The Last Station (2009) for that reason only there's even less reverence to the protagonist's life's work. I dare say at worst The Theory of Everything is a subversive insult to one of the smartest men alive.
The film plots the relationship of physicist Stephen Hawking (Redmayne) and Jane Wilde (Jones) which budded while they studied at Cambridge in the 60's. It was during that time Stephen contracted ALS and was given only two years to live. Decades later he and Jane married and had three children all while Stephen achieved his doctorate, published his infamous book A Brief History of Time and becomes celebrated as a leader in his field.
He's also an atheist. If you didn't know that rest assured it will be brought up again and again. It seems scribe Anthony McCarten wanted to mold an atheist character like screenwriters wrote gay characters in the 90's. Nearly every scene of courtship is overshadowed by talk of religion and later in the film when the differences between quantum mechanics and general relativity are expressed all we really got was the phrase "God is back on the endangered species list." Along with his ALS, his atheism and a general understanding of his job, there's nothing really underlining the character or the importance of Hawking's contributions to the world. This is a man who changed the way we see the universe like no one has since Einstein. Yet a biographical rendering on screen is given even less pomp and circumstance than John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001). At least there was a mystery afoot in that movie. The polish and conventionality of this film actually does the man a disservice as it doesn't draw attention to anything other than the bittersweet 30-year love story. His revolutionary mind? Forget about it.
I will give credit to director James Marsh for treading the very thin tightrope of cliché romance tropes. He manages to throw in a few saccharine moments here and there but pulls his punches before they become manipulative. Thing is he employs this strategy so often that many times I felt like I entered the room just after the drama had ended and all that's left is a visual imprint of what was.
Ultimately The Theory of Everything is a decent film with great performances, polished if flawed directing and boring screen writing. It's flawed because it's a safe movie about a man who is anything but; who did the research and the long hours to accomplish a lot. I suppose there is some consolation to that though. At least now more people will actually know who he is and will search on their own for what he's actually done.
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