The Theory of Everything

I imagine there will be a certain audience who will be disappointed with The Theory of Everything.  Those will be the people who are expecting a film about the work and career of Stephen Hawking, the most famous theoretical physicist of our time.  The movie is not so much about the man's work, as it is the story of how he fell in and eventually out of love with his first wife, Jane.  This is just as much her story as it is his.

This is to be expected, since the film uses Jane's book "Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" as its inspiration.  The film ends up being a respectable bio picture about the couple that has some heartbreakingly wonderful moments throughout, and two fantastic lead performances.  Of course, everyone's attention is on Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen.  It is indeed sensational how he goes through the different stages of Stephen's life and disease that will render him immobile, and it deserves all the praise and gold statuettes it's bound to attract.  But Felicity Jones as Jane deserves just as much attention, even if she has the less attention grabbing role.  Both actors give their all as they explore the joy, sorrow and frustration of these two lovers who are put to the test as Stephen slowly begins to succumb to ALS, is given only two years to live, and yet rises above to have a long and storied career in his field.

The film kicks off at the University of Cambridge in the early 1960s, when Stephen and Jane first meet each other at a party.  The friend accompanying Jane to the party takes one look at Hawking, and dubs him "strange", and that they shouldn't waste their time.  But there is an obvious connection, and Jane ends up talking with Stephen the rest of the night.  Part of the beauty of Redmayne's performance as Stephen is how he captures the awkward and shy quality of the man in his younger years, while at the same time coming across as being completely charismatic and charming, so that we understand why Jane is drawn to him.  His hair is a mess, and his large glasses are frequently askew, but we can see that he is truly fascinated in this woman.  The sweet early scenes he shares with Jane are crosscut with the scenes in his classes, particularly a professor played by David Thewlis, who eventually becomes Hawking's mentor, and encourages him to pursue his theories about the universe.

Just as Stephen's career seems to be heading in the right direction, it starts to go dangerously wrong.  We have seen signs of him having trouble walking of clutching a piece of chalk as he writes out a math formula.  But one day, as he's walking across the campus, he suddenly loses all balance and footing, and falls to the pavement.  The doctors diagnosis him with "motor neuron disease", and tell him the disease will quickly spread through his whole body, causing his muscles to decay.  Despite the warnings of both of their individual families, Stephen and Jane decide to wed.  They have children, and we follow Stephen's eventual decline in health, from walking on crutches, to being bound to a wheelchair, to completely losing the ability to speak and having to rely on a computer to communicate. 

It's at this point that Jane becomes more the focus of The Theory of Everything.  The movie looks at her struggles of raising the children and having to care for her husband.  In the film's funniest moment, Jane's mother suggests that her daughter get out of the house more, and maybe join a church choir for fun.  Jane's response?  "I think that's the most English thing anyone has ever said".  She follows her mom's advice, and meets up with the choir director, Jonathan (Charlie Cox), who recently lost his wife, and offers to help Jane out around the home.  There is an instant attraction between the two, and we can understand why she is drawn to him, while still being in love with her husband.  Other people around her notice it too, and when she becomes pregnant with another child, they secretly ask if the baby belongs to Stephen or Jonathan. 

The remainder of the film deals with the two slowly being pulled apart, as it seems that Stephen himself is developing feelings for Elaine (Eileen Davies), the specialist who is hired to work with him.  Both can see what is happening, and how they both come to terms with this seems honest and quiet, not melodramatic.  We don't get a soap opera-like scene where Jane blows up at somebody.  She stays calm and collected, wanting to hold back her feelings, but finding it increasingly hard.  The relationship between the two main characters, and the performances, just feels right.  The screenplay and the performances don't play up the drama of the deteriorating relationship.  There are no big scenes, no swelling music, and no big confrontation.  Their final moments together are a whisper, not a scream.  And that's the way it usually is.  This movie is smart enough to understand that.

There is a certain calculated nature to The Theory of Everything which may turn off certain people.  It's clearly been designed as a feel-good crowd pleaser that goes on to win a lot of awards.  And yet, there's enough truthfulness behind the movie that I did not mind so much.  The performances are superb, and the writing and dialogue is good enough that I never felt like I was being completely manipulated.  I'm sure that some of the uglier truths of the real story have been sanded off in order to make this dramatization more pleasant and PG-13.  But it never reaches the point that it feels like it is talking down to the audience.  That's what separates this movie from the films that fall into the trap of total sappiness.  This one knows just how far to go with its manipulations, and when to pull back. 

Much like Wild, I think this will be a film that is remembered more for its performances than its narrative.  But, this is still one of the better bio-pictures I have seen during the end of the year movie season so far.  This may not be as smart of a movie as we could have gotten about Stephen Hawking, but it's very emotional and uplifting.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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