Biopics always tend to be an ambitious project for actors and directors alike, the portrayal of real life figures can easily come across as gaudy but thankfully the life of theoretical physicist Dr Stephen Hawking, much like his real story, passes all expectations.
Also there's no spoiler tag since his biography is open to the public, don't be shocked at the reveal that he gets motor neurone disease.
From humble yet great beginnings we are introduced to the films main focus, Stephen (Eddie Redmayne), a bright yet somewhat lazy astrophysics student studying at Cambridge University. While attending a party he meets fellow student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) a student of literature and the pair hit it off despite their differences when it comes to science and religion, a somewhat recurring theme in the film. Stephen seems at a loss when trying to figure out what his thesis will be, while his focus lies elsewhere, his professor, Dennis Sciama (Thewlis) brings him along to a lecture on black holes and the building blocks of the infamous essay "Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time" were set.
Throughout his daily life and the blossoming romance between himself and Jane there are subtle visual clues that allude to his oncoming disability, from slight slurred speech to the fumbling of chalk the ongoing threat of the disease about to take over fills you with dread, it doesn't take Redmayne long to charm you and it's hard to see such awful things happen to a genuinely likable character. Eventually after a nasty fall, for me was one of the most standout moments in the film, that being his diagnosis from the doctor. They sit beside each other on a bench in an empty hospital corridor as the full details of Lou Gehrig's disease are told to Stephen under a rising white noise, the shots are solely focused on facial reactions and the poignancy of the question "will it affect the mind?" lingers. Something perhaps put in by the screenwriter to foreshadow Stephen Hawking's resolve to make the best of the hand he's been dealt. Yet the doctor retorts with the grisly news that "the mind will be fine, it's just you won't be able to communicate your ideas."
The film is based on two memoirs written by Jane Wilde herself and chronicle the ups and downs of her marriage to Hawking, there is an interesting parallel between Hawking's ailing health and the deterioration of their marriage, the pair eventually have three children yet don't have the money to get a carer to assist Jane with Stephen. Realising she never really achieved any of her goals and a meeting with local church choir conductor Jonathon (Charlie Cox), what begins as additional help around the house eventually stretches into a mutual attraction between the two and further straining her marriage with Stephen.
Though both Redmayne and Jones are relatively new on the big budget scene, they display excellent chemistry and there use of mannerisms and quirks from their real life counterparts gives the whole thing an incredibly organic feeling. Portraying disability is always an arduous task for any actor and many times in the past it has come across as hammy and mostly insulting, yet Redmayne manages to keep you under the illusion that he really is going through the phases of physical degredation authentically and sympathetically.
Evocative, harrowing and above all a story that inspires hope, The Theory Of Everything gently keeps religion and science at its side to portray the power of the human spirit. That's super cliche'd but watch the movie and you'll see what I mean. It's incredible to watch Redmayne and Jones with that inkling they very well could be this generations Mckellan and Smith.
