Oddly hollow

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2017)

I was really enthused about watching THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, the Stephen Hawking biopic featuring an Oscar-winning performance from Eddie Redmayne. I had previously watched and loved the excellent IMITATION GAME with Benedict Cumberbatch, and was hoping for something similar. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that this movie features Hawking as a supporting character while his wife takes centre stage. The reason is that it's adapted from a book that Hawking's wife wrote.
No offense to Mrs. Hawking, but I have little interest in seeing her life and the cheesy Mills and Boons moments with Charlie Cox (as much as I like him) play out. I want to see Hawking, and I want to hear about his theories on the universe. There's little to no science present here, leaving the experience oddly hollow. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING's saving grace is Redmayne himself, who delivers a gruelling, exhausting, incredibly accurate portrayal of a man gripped by disability and defying the odds at every turn; he fully deserved his Oscar and gives the best portrayal of disability I've seen in a movie since INSIDE I'M DANCING. It's just a pity that, Redmayne aside, the film is quite average.