It was back in early August that the trailer for The Theory of Everything first appeared and The Optimist got terribly over excited about it. The wait has been long and at times testing but rejoice, for the film has finally been released in cinemas. So, does it live up to the expectation? Read on ...
Less than a minute in and like me, you'll be aglow with the adorableness that is Jane and Stephen or, as I like to call them, Janephen (I'll admit, there have been catchier amalgamations). The Theory of Everything charts the love story of physicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane Wilde. Based on her book Travelling to Infinity, it spans the length of their relationship, through their marriage, divorce and the progression of his illness.
If you read my post when the trailer came out, you'll remember I was a little bit worried that this film would be a big screen copy of Hawking, the BBC's superb 2004 biopic. I'm relieved to say that I have been proven completely wrong. TTOE, as it shall henceforth be known, tells an almost entirely different story - one that focuses less on Stephen's work and more on his marriage. As it's based on Jane's book, it probably won't surprise you to learn that she plays just as big a part in the story as Stephen does. What did come as a surprise though, was that it was her, or rather, Felicity Jones that had me reaching for the tissues first. Eddie Redmayne's already attracted a lot of attention for his performance, and I expected all my attention to be on him, but Felicity's a revelation. In a way, she's tasked with the heavy lifting, she has to do all the reacting on his behalf but she does it so naturally it's as if she's never read the script - which of course, is the way it should be. I'll be pained if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination but there's no question that if she does, it should be for lead actress, not supporting.
This film lays the story of Stephen's well documented life out afresh - it's at its most absorbing when one of his many successes is immediately proceeded by one of his darker moments. Seeing him awarded a PHD then having to watch him try in vain to eat a spoonful of peas is utterly, utterly heartbreaking. But that is just a moment. There are others, that are utterly uplifting. Stephen has spent more than half of his life trapped inside his own body but his remarkable brain and his superhuman determination have lead him to achieve more than most able-bodied people do in a lifetime. He's changed the world, and this film celebrates it. It shows that his illness has never dampened his twinkling sense of humour and that clearly, his friends and family worship him.
If there's one small thing that Hawking did better though, it's the sciency stuff, or rather, the goosebumpy-ness of the sciency stuff. Shall I try to explain that a little more eloquently? TTOE beautifully illustrates some of Stephen's theories using things like milk being stirred through coffee, or beer foam being swirled across a pub table. It breaks them down to the point where even I can understand them and that is no mean feat. However, in Hawking, when Stephen realises that the universe could have started with the Big Bang, the scene was goosebump inducing. TTOE pulls its punches in other ways though, and if you don't get goosebumps during Stephen's speech about human endeavour, you're wearing waaaay too many layers.
And so, to the thing I was most excited by when I first saw the trailer - Eddie Redmayne. His performance is, in a word, astonishing. I've loved Ed-Red since I first saw him in Tess of the D'Urbevilles in 2008 and I've followed his work ever since, but even I didn't realise he was capable of such an all-consuming performance. Even at the start of the film, before the effects of Stephen's illness fully kick in, Eddie has become him. His accent is different, his posture is different, he somehow manages to look 21 despite being more than ten years older. Then, slowly, his speech starts to slur, his shoulders begin to hunch and the performance and the effects of Stephen's illness start to progress. Eventually, Eddie is so contorted and so uncannily still that you forget it's an act. Even more impressive is that even when he is completely still, he's still showing you how he feels, his eyes fill with pain and sparkle with mischief. Like I said, I've been watching him for seven years and there were moments when I genuinely forgot he wasn't really Stephen Hawking. The whole thing is mind-blowing.
One of the most remarkable things about this film though (besides EVERYTHING) is the fact that even though Eddie's towering performance should eclipse everything else, Felicity Jones just shines. Together, the two of them create one of the most believable relationships I've ever seen on screen, so no matter how much praise we heap on Eddie (and at the moment it looks like he could well be picking up an Oscar) we should not forget that his performance relies on hers being equally spectacular, just like the successes of a certain physicist and his inspirational wife.
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