The Theory of Everything

Plot synopsis:
In 1963, Cambridge University astrophysics student Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) begins a relationship with literature student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). Although Stephen excels at mathematics and physics, his friends and professors are concerned over his lack of a thesis topic. After Stephen and his professor Dennis Sciama (David Thewlis) attend a lecture on black holes, Stephen speculates that black holes may have been part of the creation of the universe and decides to write his thesis on time.
While pursuing his research, Stephen's muscles begin to fail, eventually causing him to fall and hit his head. He learns he has motor neurone disease; he will be unable to talk, swallow, breathe or move most of his body, and has approximately two years to live. Stephen asks what will happen to his brain. The doctor tells Stephen that the disease doesn't affect the brain and that Stephen's thoughts won't change but eventually, no one will know what they are. As Stephen becomes reclusive, focusing on his work, Jane confesses her love to him. She tells Stephen's father she intends to stay with Stephen even as his condition worsens. They marry and have a son.
Stephen presents his thesis to the examination board, arguing that a black hole created the universe in a Big Bang, that it will emit heat, and that it will end in a Big Crunch. While celebrating with Jane and his friends, Stephen realises he cannot walk and begins using a wheelchair.
After having a second child, a daughter, Stephen develops a theory about the visibility of black holes and becomes a world-renowned physicist. While focusing on the children, Stephen's health and his increasing fame, Jane is unable to work on her own thesis and is frustrated. Stephen tells her he understands if she needs help. She joins the church choir, where she meets widower Jonathan (Charlie Cox). She and Jonathan become close friends, and she employs him as a piano teacher for her son. Jonathan befriends the entire family, helping Stephen with his illness, supporting Jane, and playing with the children.
When Jane gives birth to another son, Stephen's mother asks Jane if the baby is Jonathan's, which she denies. Jane sees that Jonathan overheard the conversation and is appalled, but when they are alone they admit their feelings for one another. Jonathan stays away from the family, but Stephen visits him, saying that Jane needs him.
While Jane and Jonathan take the children camping, Stephen is invited to attend an opera performance in Bordeaux and contracts pneumonia. While in the hospital, the doctors tell Jane that Stephen needs a tracheotomy, which will leave him unable to speak. She agrees to the surgery.
Stephen learns to use a spelling board and uses it to communicate with Elaine (Maxine Peake), his new nurse. He receives a computer with a built-in voice synthesiser, and uses it to write a book, A Brief History of Time, which becomes an international best-seller.
Stephen tells Jane that he has been invited to America to accept an award and will be taking Elaine with him. Jane faces the realisation that her and Stephen's marriage has not been working, telling him she "did her best." Jane and Stephen agree to divorce. Stephen goes to the lecture with Elaine, the two having fallen in love, and Jane and Jonathan reunite. At the lecture, Stephen sees a student drop a pen; he imagines getting up to return it, almost crying at the reminder of how his disease has affected him. He goes on to give an inspiring speech, saying, "There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope."
Stephen invites Jane to meet the Queen with him; they share a happy day together with their children, with Stephen saying "Look what we made".
An extended closing series comprises select moments from the film shown in reverse back to the moment Stephen first saw Jane. A final title sequence brings the lives of the lead characters up to date. Jane and Jonathan are happily married and she has completed her PhD. She and Stephen remain close friends. Stephen declines a knighthood and continues his research with no plans to retire.

Tags: romantic, sentimental

Review:
And it is made all the more poignant as it is based upon the account written by his wife who has borne so much.But it is the breathtaking performance of Eddie Redmayne as Hawking that simply blasted this film into an extraordinary level.
Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones turn in phenomenal performances as the revolutionary Stephen Hawking and his former wife Jane Wilde.
Eddie's mentally and physically challenging role, displaying Hawkings brilliance and motor neuron disease, are extremely commendable and impressive (a sure fire for a Best Actor nomination at next year's Oscars).
and though their lives ended up in different places, it was their years together that displayed to us how a little bit of hope can go a very, very long way.Verdict: A beautiful story that shows how time and love are limitless...
What a wonderful accomplishment of a film by James Marsh (Man on Wire) who brings such depth and beauty to the life/love story of Stephen and Jane Hawking.
Encompassing all the best parts of films like A Beautiful Mind by Ron Howard but creating its own signature and style to the biopic genre, James Marsh's gorgeous and beautifully compelling The Theory of Everything, the true story of Stephen and Jane Hawking, is a sensitive piece of filmmaking that stands as one of the finest movie efforts of the year.
Starring Eddie Redmayne as Stephen and Felicity Jones as Jane, the two develop a masterful and sonorous dynamic that behaves as a naturalistic relationship that inhabits qualities of both love and sadness.
The first twenty minutes of the film, prior to the diagnosis of Hawking's disease, Redmayne utilizes all the quick wit and charm to show what his Stephen loved the most of his work and his woman.
An Oxford University dormitory along with a dozen outfits worn by all the characters can easily be taken for granted in a film like this.Screenwriter Anthony McCarten adapts his script from the book "Travelling to Infinity: My life with Stephen" which was written by Jane Hawking.
The Theory of Everything tells the uphill struggle that world renowned genius Stephen Hawking went through when dealing with his, now, infamous disease and trying to maintain his relationship with his loving wife, Jane.
It showed enough of the relationship aspect behind Stephen and Jane but it very briefly touched base on Hawking's intellectual discoveries and I thought that if it was a bit more balanced in that respect, it would be a near perfect film.
I was on the edge of my seat watching Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones) as she did more and more amazing acts of love for Stephan Hawking (Eddie Redmayne).
It carries its pedigree with style and class, even if it is a rather conventional biopic in disguise, with its main character suffering through a debilitating disease while finding the stamina to go on.With a very literate screenplay by Anthony McCarten and accomplished direction by James Marsh, the film tells the story of famed scientist Stephen Hawking and his battle with ALS.
But it does tell an inspiring story about Stephen Hawking's personal struggle with his illness that's very uplifting.The story of Stephen Hawking and his then wife Jane, apparently based on a book she wrote about it, which probability explains why there was not much science in the movie, not that I'm complaining, as it was a well played film about a difficult relationship.I didn't known Stephen and his wife actually met around the same time as he began to suffer from Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The difficulty Jane Hawking had being with a man getting trapped in his own body, played by Eddie Redmayne.I have herd of Hawking's surprisingly positive personality, not because of his condition, but because I expected his condition would make it hard to express any emotion.
it was just a true take on a complex relationship taking it's toll, well performed by some brilliant actors.If your looking to watch this movie to hear some science talk, that's not what the movie is really about, unless ironically convincing the world of his theories on time was really as easy as the movie makes it out for Hawking.
On the other hand, those who go into The Theory of Everything, looking for an elaborate account of Hawking's work and his science and the method behind his work, then those people may be in for a bit of a letdown as this story while it does focus on Hawking's life, it mostly focuses on his long marriage and relationship with his wife, Jane, who wrote the book on which the film is based on.
This 'sexualized' Hawking happens throughout the film in various ways..."so Stephen, do some things still 'work.'" The movie mostly follows Jane and her torn affair with some choir priest.
The film would've done a better job with Hawking's imagination and space interpreted in shots, as well as the times he was living in and absorbing and watching as opposed to generic renderings of his domestic life (which was still mild and safe compared to the actual reality) and Jane's struggle and perspective.
Felicity Jones' performance as Hawking's wife Jane is equally impressive as we watch her struggle to maintain her husband's condition.Unfortunately, the rest of the film is not so adept.
A biopic of Stephen Hawking, mostly focused on his relationship with his first wife, Jane (the film is based on her own autobiography).
What lead Hawking to consider the existence of god?Hawking is played by Eddie Redmayne who does a fabulous job making you feel as though you are watching Hawking himself.This movie is about a man with a horrible illness who happens to be a magnificent scientist.
The Theory of Everything is an extremely moving love story concerning the brilliant British scientist Stephen Hawking and his first marriage.
Whilst you may need a PhD in Physics to understand the intricacies of Hawking's theories (which by coincidence I have and – no – it's not enough) the lack of any sort of Physics knowledge is not a barrier to enjoying this movie.Starting in 1963 when Hawking is starting his PhD studies in Cambridge University, the story picks up with the geeky and socially inadequate Hawking as he sparks a (rather unlikely) relationship with the extremely attractive Jane (Felicity Jones from "The Invisible Woman").
So in this sense, Hawking narrates his own dialogue in the latter half of the film, which is quite a coup.Supporting actor parts are also great from an ensemble cast with Simon McBurney ("Magic in the Moonlight", TV's "Rev") as Hawking's father, Harry Lloyd as Hawking's university friend Brian and Charlie Cox as the 'family friend' Jonathan being particularly effective.The director is James Marsh, best known for his gripping documentaries "Man on Wire" and "Project Nim", and the cinematographer Benoît Delhomme ("The Boy in the Striped Pajamas") realising a wonderfully nostalgic vision of 60's Cambridge.
So a 'must see' in the run up to the Oscar season, but one to take lots of tissues to if you are affected by emotional films: this one seemed to be particularly impactful on the females in the audience - perhaps because it tells the love story from the perspective of Jane - with my wife virtually in tears throughout!
He is - and I hope no one picks me up wrong - the good human form of the pop culture sci-fi view of the alien genius villain who is all brain and no body such as The Mekon and Davros .I'm saying this because I've got the instinctive feeling that THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING might be getting rewarded for the subject rather than the content and is a film I found difficult to take to The story starts in 1963 with young able bodied intellectual future scientist Stephen Hawking meeting young literature student Jane Wilde at Cambridge University .
I've no idea what the young Jane Wilde looked like in reality but played by the beautiful Felicity Jones she is an absolute stunner and by far the best moments of the film are in the early stages when romance blooms between this unlikely couple .
What I don't want to do is see some generic family drama where protagonist X deals with obstacle Y and receives bittersweet ending Z.This is Hollywood at its worst, instead of trying to step up to Stephen Hawking's level and actually make an inspiring film about physics and the universe (in the spirit of Carl Sagan), they have taken him down to their level so that he makes sense to the average man on the street.
I was compelled to watch this movie after hearing how Eddie Redmayne gave the performance of a life time, thus becoming the hands-down favorite to win the Oscar for Best Actor.
Eddie Redmayne does an amazing(!!!) job and the Oscar was fully deserved.Another thing worth mentioning is how authentic it seems - of course because it's based on the biography by his former wife, Jane Wilde Hawking - but it's not at all slushy at any time.
The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as his wife Jane.
The story begins when Jane Wilde (Jones) first met Stephen Hawking (Redmayne) and follows their relationship, as he first finds out he has motor neuron disease.
If you cannot imagine how a film about Stephen Hawking could be utterly astounding and heartfelt and touching, don't imagineand see "Theory of Everything." In short, the incredibly touching back story of Hawking is presented hereless science, more humanityand it is absolutely beautiful.However, Redmayne completely steals the show as Mr. Hawking in an utterly pitch-perfect, transformative performance that will most likely nab him his first Oscar nominationwith a win looking pretty darn good as well as he goes from upright man to wheelchair-bound.Redmayne is mesmerizing.As is this whole incredibly beautiful film..
"The Theory of Everything" tells the story of physicist Stephen Hawking, played by Eddie Redmayne.
The movie covers the love story of Hawking and literature student Jane Wilde, played by Felicity Jones, coinciding with Hawking rise to prominence, for his scientific theories to the world's birth.
Inspired by the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking, 'The Theory of Everything' is an inspiring biopic about the Einstein of our time & his long-suffering wife.
Eddie Redmayne as THE Great Stephen Hawking & Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde Hawking, are like never before.
The Theory of Everything is a 2014 British biopic romantic drama film directed by James Marsh, written by Anthony McCarten and was inspired by the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking.
If we didn't already know we were about to watch a film based on the life of Stephen Hawking, we might think we were watching a romantic comedy set in a fantasy world.When it's revealed the main character has motor neurone disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the look and tone of the film stay bright and uplifting, despite the dark and depressing things we are watching unfold on-screen.
This results in a man Jonathan Jones (played by Charlie Cox) into becoming a caretaker as Jane struggles with her feeling towards him and her love and beliefs for Hawking, When I saw the first preview for The Theory of Everything, I thought that the movie was going to be too schmaltzy.
Eddie Redmayne fires away one of the best acting performances of the year as Stephen Hawking.
Come 2014, The Theory Of Everything belongs to similar genre diving deep into the relationship of a well-known personality with his better half.As we look into personal life of the famous Physicist, Stephen Hawking, we are also shown about his work while fighting against the rare disease which keeps him on wheel chair for the entire life.Famous for making documentary " Man On Wire", James Marsh adapts the book of same name based on the life of legendary Stephen Hawkings and written by Jane Hawking.
This is a shame because a better script could have flexed his acting muscles to portray some more raw emotion such as anger and frustration over his disability.As for the directing, the movie shows the steady degeneration of Stephen Hawking as he goes from a normal young man to someone with severe disabilities, yet many scenes appeared to be shot out of order because sometimes his condition seems to have suddenly improved versus the scene before.
Of course, there's the showy, but very effective, performance from Eddie Redmayne, which is juxtaposed with a much more subtle and nuanced performance from Felicity Jones who wears the mien of utter exhaustion and deep concern with her throughout a depressing, albeit very admirable and encouraging, life that's spent nurturing her "companion." It's these two wonderful performances that provoke wild emotion from moviegoers and essentially take the movie beyond the level of generic fodder that it occasionally comes frighteningly close to.
"The Theory of Everything" has such a great parallelism, heart, and emotion as both Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones portray the brilliant mind of Stephen Hawking and his wife and caretaker, Jane Wilde..
The movie is, in essence, a "two-hander" and Jones more than holds her own as Hawking's wife Jane, and it was gratifying to watch two strong performances on the screen together.The story is told strongly by Director James Marsh while the cinematography brings strong, interesting visuals to a picture that could have been bland.
Above all this film is about all Stephen Hawking's life aspects: from schooling, his theory, his disease and his relationships.
I have watched a couple of documentaries on Dr. Stephen Hawking which made me a bit skeptical about The Theory of Everything as Hollywood tends to change historical facts for dramatic impact, while The theory of everything is guilty of this cardinal sin as well it's still a decent experience if you approach it as a film about two young persons in love and a disease which threatens it.
A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife (Felicity Jones).Upon the first glance, you might think this would be a terrible film.
But "The Theory of Everything" isn't all about Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne) and how incredible his story is.
Instead the film is "part biopic, part love story" with the latter telling us about the imperfect marriage between Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde (played by Felicity Jones).
In testament to this the real-life Stephen Hawking commented, on seeing the film, that he felt he was sometimes looking back in time at himself.
Although the film does give Hawking his due, it's not as if Eddie Redmayne has a bigger role than Felicity Jones.
The Theory of Everything tells the story of one of the most respected living scientists, Stephen Hawking, from his days as a young, brilliant physics student to his struggle with Lou Gehrig's Disease, and becoming the man we know today, with the mechanical voice.As a person who admires but doesn't fully understand science, or the real-life Hawking's contribution to it, I liked that this film attempted to explore his work a little, in lay man's terms.
It mainly follows his family life and the difficult situation he and his wife Jane are in, and essentially makes Jane out to be a saint.Eddie Redmayne, who plays Hawking, deserves real credit for being able to portray a character from a young, able-bodied (but still shaky) man, to a man struggling to speak, to wheelchair-bound and speechless.
Going into the movie I was expecting to look at a great piece of cinema as well as learn about the life of Stephen Hawking and his scientific ideas.
the movie focuses on the disease and the family relationships, while touching the science aspect once in a while, explaining it to the layman.Eddie Redmayne is very good in his role, convincingly playing Hawking and making the performance very believable.
Felicity Jones is OK in her role.Good low-key score by Johann Johannsson.I haven't checked how accurate the movie is, but it's based on a book written by his wife and according to IMDb's trivia, Stephen Hawking liked it..
His next film starring Channing Tatum called Jupiter Ascending, has blockbuster written all over it so there no turning back for this 33 year old actor.Budget: $15million Worldwide Gross: $121.2millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their biopics about the remarkable life of Stephen Hawking and his rocky relationship with his wife.
Eddie Redmayne gives an impressive physical performance as Hawking (it's no wonder he won the Oscar -- the Academy loves performances like these), while Felicity Jones suffers nobly, as wives always do in biopics like this.
Eddie's performance is so well executed that you forget the actor, you are watching Stephen Hawking.For several moments in the movie, I was going to cry.
This is the life story of professor Stephen hawking and his relationship with his wife and his debilitating disease.
As Hawking says "Where there is life, there is hope." or, I would say, where there is life, there is love.I would like to salute the great performance of young actor Eddie Redmayne.
The Theory of Everything is a biopic about Stephen Hawking(Eddie Redmayne) & the love story between him & his wife, Jane Hawking(Felicity Jones).
The film chronicles the relationship between Stephen & Jane Hawking over the years.
Eddie Redmayne has given the best performance of his career as Stephen Hawking.
Felicity Jones' performance as Jane Hawking was crucial because her relationship with Stephen Hawking was the emotional crux for the entire film.
The plot is not purely biopic as such but the movie takes us through the hard life Stephen Hawking had to go through after he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and how his wife backed him throughout the tough times before eventually parting their ways.