British actor Eddie Redmayne’s breakout performance was opposite Michelle Williams in 2011’s underappreciated biopic “My Week with Marilyn”. One year later, he joined the stellar ensemble of Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried for the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical sensation “Les Miserables”. Now, Redmayne finally takes center stage, giving a demanding and defiant performance as Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything”.
Felicity Jones (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, “Like Crazy”) is also quite good as Hawking’s eventual wife, Jane. The film begins with the two meeting at a party in the early 1960s, while Hawking is studying physics at Cambridge. They quickly develop a fascination for each other. At the same time Hawking is beginning to experience problems with his motor skills. Following a fall, he learns that he has Motor Neuron disease, a form of ALS. He’s told that nearly all of his voluntary body functions (including walking and talking) will stop, and that he only has two years to live. Hawking tries to end his relationship with Jane, but instead, she decides to stay with him so they can fight the disease together. They soon get married and begin a family. And while his physical condition continues to worsen, Hawking begins demonstrating his intellectual brilliance, coming-up with new, revolutionary theories on time, space, black holes and the history of the universe.
Director James Marsh (“Man on Wire”) crafts many memorable scenes in “The Theory of Everything”, some of them challenging and heartbreaking. Watching Hawking, who just earned his PhD, trying to pull himself up a flight of stairs in his house, only to see his young son looking down at him, is extremely powerful. And Marsh does a nice job in keeping the narrative balanced evenly between both Stephen and Jane. This is an intimate look at both members of this relationship, not “The Stephen Hawking Story”. As Stephen’s personal caretaker for most of their marriage, we see Jane helping him eat, use his wheelchair, and supporting and encouraging him to continue to work. There are similar moments seen in this year’s outstanding documentary, “Life Itself”, involving late film critic Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz.
And we see the Hawkings’ relationship go through highs and lows and take some unexpected turns. Their daily battle to try to be a “normal family”, as Stephen describes them at one point, lasts far longer than the expected two years (which is never explained). Unfortunately, in the second half of the film, supporting characters are introduced who take-up too much screen time, interrupting what, up until then, is a fascinating look at two incredible people. The screenplay is based on Jane’s own memoir, and all these events apparently did take place in real life. But following the first hour filled with wonder and hope, I couldn’t help but grow a little angry watching the film turn into a romantic soap opera. And the ending leaves you with a brutal dose of reality, which thematically, may have been the point, but Marsh is way too heavy-handed with the symbolism here and throughout.
“The Theory of Everything” features nomination-worthy lead performances, a beautiful score, and a vivid, almost whimsical, visual look. I guess my problem is that I wanted ‘everything’ to work, and it just doesn’t.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “The Theory of Everything” gets a B.