The Theory of Everything - Film Review

Director: James Marsh  Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones  Genre: bio-rom drama

"However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do"

Kicking off my 8-film review collection is James Marsh's Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. Not only does it serve as an insightful and interesting tale of an incredible man's life and his achievements but showcases one of the best performances by an actor I have seen in a long time.

The film itself is primarily about a love story. It follows the complicated relationship of Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde from their meeting as graduate students at the University of Cambridge throughout their thirty-year marriage and to their divorce in 1995. It was a  relationship that was a catalyst for many of the great things Hawking's achieved in his work.

Going into the movie theater I had reasonably mediocre expectations (having seen the work of Redmayne and Jones  and not been overly impressed). However, both were undeniably fantastic portraying Hawking and his devoted wife Jane. It is no surprise to me that Eddie Redmayne recently won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He simply blows all other nominees out of the water.

Redmayne masters the physicality of Hawking. Not only does he have an uncanny resemblance to the world renowned physicist, but believably depicts his slow deterioration due to Motor Neuron Disease (a.k.a ALS - the charity you all lobbed ice buckets over your head for last summer). He visualizes Hawking's inspiring story - a man with so much potential and ambition is told he has a limit to his life, only to fight through the many obstacles that face him to achieve some of the most groundbreaking discoveries in Science.

Felicity Jones is wonderful as Jane (whose memoir Travelling to Infinity is the basis of the film) and delivers the conflict and struggle she experienced with  grace and humanity. Her character arc alone proves there are many layer to this biopic, The Theory of Everything is more than meets the eye, dealing with issues on life and love relatable to everyone.

The film incorporates the maths and science without being too forceful or intimidating - yet informs the audience of what makes Stephen Hawking an anomaly. I particularly enjoyed the spattering of humour throughout Anthony McCarten's screenplay that displays Hawking's tremendous wit balanced with his intelligence and genius.

There are also superb supporting roles by Harry Lloyd, Maxine Peake and David Thewlis that compliment the performances of the two leads and a delightful score by Johan Johansson that adds an excellence of sound that mirrors the visual.

The cinematography, performances, pacing, score and screenplay are all exemplary. The Theory of Everything is without a doubt one of the best British films around, and a very strong contender for this years Awards Season.