Redmayne is stunning in a masterful film

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2015)

I'm 7/8 of the way through the Best Picture nominees for this year (I still have 'Boyhood' to go) and something that has been distinctly missing, despite there being some great films, is the ability to bring out emotion in the audience. Every film has been clever or funny or informative, but 'The Theory of Everything' is all of the above and more. The love story in the centre of it all is the truly captivating part brought to light by two exquisite leading performances and a flawlessly written script.
Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones have been nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. Redmayne has undoubtedly delivered the best performance of the year. He is absolutely mesmerising in every scene, to the point where you occasionally have to remind yourself you're not watching actual footage of the real Stephen Hawking. His only real competition for the award is coming from Michael Keaton in 'Boyhood'. Keaton was good there's no doubt about it, but his is more a case of "what a great story it would be if he won", whereas Redmayne deserves the award for simply acting his butt off.
Jones is also very good in her performance. She's an integral part of making the love story believable and one you want to root for, while always understanding just how hard it would be. I had never actually seen Jones act in a film before this one. Her nomination is richly deserving and while I'm afraid she'll struggle to upset Julianne Moore and actually win the award, she will be given the chance again in the future I'm almost certain, based on the performance I just watched.
A lot of the hate this film is receiving seems to be from people who aren't too fond of atheism. It's incredibly disappointing that these people can't simply put their views aside and judge a film for what it is. The other criticism I have seen brought up once or twice is that the film is too formulaic or "Oscar bait". I don't understand this at all. I would absolutely 100% of the time prefer a film that was moving and beautiful whilst being told in a conventional way, than a film that makes every effort to be as different from the pack as possible but never actually affects its audience or makes any valid points. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is a prime example of the latter for me.
'The Theory of Everything' is the exact reason I take the time to watch all of the Oscar nominees every year. I always stumble across a film that I would never have taken he time to watch otherwise and end up absolutely loving it. I really wasn't excited going into the theatre at all, expecting this to be one of the nominees I would least enjoy, so I was thrilled to be blown away by it. The acting is mind-blowing, the script is perfectly written and the direction is sound. What more could you ask for?