The Theory of Everything 2014
In 2014, two movies were released about British scientists, one about Stephen Hawking and the other about Alan Turing. Somehow I never got around to seeing either one, but both were nominated for Best Picture plus some acting awards, not least Eddie Redmayne who won for playing Hawking. The Theory of Everything, while about Stephen Hawking, is based on his wife’s book, so it is largely from her perspective, which is maybe a good thing since a lot of the inpenetrable physics and cosmology takes a back seat to the story of a genius given a death sentence in two years, but who perseveres, becoming a celebrity scientist. Most people know that story, but the movie does a good job of personalizing that and showing some of the personal drama behind that. And I don’t mean hours of physical therapy as Hawking overcomes his physical impairments, because we don’t see that. He just slowly atrophies away while still trying to have a fairly normal family life and the focus isn’t on his disabilities or necessarily his accomplishments (though you do learn some about that along with his sense of humor), as it is his personal life, which makes a pretty decent movie. Redmayne is amazing as he becomes the Hawking we know today, trapped in a wheelchair and speaking through a computer, communicating more with his eyes than anything. Felicity Jones, as his wife, also does a great job as a woman who signs up for two years of misery while she watches her husband die, and instead it becomes a lifetime of essentially single motherhood plus taking care of Hawking, struggling financially until he achieves fame later on, as much for beating the odds against ALS, honestly, as his scientific achievements which most people know nothing about. Hawking is still with us and as successful as ever, so this isn’t really a sad story, nor one of triumph, though we see some of each. Instead we see people struggling with what life throws at them. I think that part surprised me and makes this movie rise above the typical biopic.
Written: 27 Nov 2016
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital