Synopsis: Biopic about Professor Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his relationship with his first wife Jane (Felicity Jones).
Stan's thoughts: While the Imitation Game is about a genius and his work, The Theory of Everything is about a genius and love. Jane and Stephen meet and fall in love at university just before he is diagnosed with the debilitating and life threatening motor neurone disease.
The story centres on the relationship between the two but to say it looks at how his illness affects that relationship is to over simplify. Yes is does play its part but then so does Stephen's increasing success, their growing family and the relationships around them - as it would with any normal couple.
This film has some deeply moving moments which had me in bits, it also has two stunning performances at its heart. Eddie Redmayne deserves to have accolades heaped on him for his physical performance alone but I really hope that doesn't leave Felicity Jones in the shadow because hers is the equal in emotion.
Stephen's illness is barely referenced in dialogue something I found perplexing at the time but apparently the actual professor rarely talks about it. Instead you get a man who is exceptionally intelligent but is the far more sociable genius, if you were going to compare him say, to Alan Turing. He is romantic, witty and likes having fun, something he doesn't seem to lose as he grows up.
He and Jane are a fascinating couple to spend time with on screen although if I was going to have one slight quibble it would be that I'm not sure the story quite sustains the running time when you know what the outcome will be.
Otherwise this is an impressive acting achievement and I think we can safely sit back and watch the awards pile up. A great start to 2015's film watching and Oscar season.
Ratings
- Stan’s 79%
- IMDB 77%
- Metascore 72%
- Rotten Tomatoes 80%
- RT Audience Rating* 84%
* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher
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