Enchanting, intriguing and one of the year's best.

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2015)

Despite being about uber-genius Stephen Hawking, there's nothing incredibly complex about this biopic; it's just a good ol' fashion relationship drama that concentrates on character and storytelling. That it does this so incredibly well, though, is why it is the first five star movie of 2015. With a life as amazing as Hawking's it would've been pretty easy to focus on either his scientific brilliance or his medical condition as the core story, however the film's success lies in its choice to primarily explore his partnership with wife Jane. Meeting before he is crippled with motor neuron disease and struggling together through the seemingly impossible, Stephen and Jane, as played by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, are two of the most interesting lovers you will see on screen this year. In the early stages their chemistry is intoxicating – their brainy youthfulness making for a tremendously sweet romance – but as the years progress their bond simultaneously becomes trickier and more profound. Whilst his physical transformation throughout proceedings is astounding, there's more to Redmayne's Golden Globe-winning performance as the famed physicist. He brings a charm and sly wit to Hawking that makes him grounded, relatable and infinitely fascinating. Yet it wouldn't have mattered how good Redmayne was if Jones wasn't just as absorbing in the more emotionally complex, if less "flashy", role as Jane. She is deeply enthralling as a woman who balances love, family, personal growth and responsibility, despite continuously battling against the odds on all fronts. This really is the Redmayne-Jones show, and as wonderful as the score, cinematography and James Marsh's direction is, you get the feeling that with these two talented actors on centre stage this true life tale would be enchanting regardless of what occurred around them. A dramatic tour de force that is worthy of all the praise heaped upon it.