Film Review: Heartfelt Tale of Human Needs in ‘The Theory of Everything’

Submitted by NickHC on November 14, 2014 - 5:36pm

CHICAGO – The life story of iconic physicist Stephen Hawking is given a well-deserved cinematic treatment this weekend with “The Theory of Everything,” an earnest presentation of an existence that defies the usual. As his personal journey required the care-taking of others, the film is not adapted from something Hawking wrote, but from his wife Jane’s personal account, “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Director James Marsh (“Man on Wire,” “Project Nim”) begins the story of Jane (Felicity Jones) and Stephen (Eddie Redmayne) as an unbeatable romance movie couple, a pairing of dreamy affection between two lovely intellectuals with a near-cosmic cuteness. From their first smiles at each other one night at a stuffy college bar, the two form the axle of “The Theory of Everything,” a story that quickly changes from that of a love story.

Whilst working on his doctorate, Hawking is diagnosed with a moto neuron disease, which progressively deteriorates his physical condition. He is told that his brain will not be affected in the process, but he will die in two years. Stubborn to let a frustrated Stephen close himself off from the world, Jane invests herself into taking care of him, and to sacrificing her own needs so that he may continue to contribute his brilliance to the science world.

Redmayne labors for a performance that tempts words like “transformative,” but he earns it. It is one of the year’s most spectacular performances in that the young actor is showing an entire physical change within one human being, bolstering his perfect casting considering his facial similarities. Starting with a soft voice and geeky gentility he creates an adoring version of Hawking as a promising philosopher of science. As Hawking’s body continues to worsen, Redmayne provides a vivid display of the man’s physical status, as we trace it to his different limbs. Redmayne illuminates the unfamiliar journey of Hawking that most only know the end of. In a performance that shows evolution in craft, he provides a spellbinding embodiment.

“The Theory of Everything” opens in Chicago on November 14, 2014. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, David Thewlis. Written by Anthony McCarten, based off the book “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen” by Jane Hawking. Directed by James Marsh. Rated “PG-13”