The Theory of Everything (2014)

The Theory of Everything tells the uphill struggle that world renowned genius Stephen Hawking went through when dealing with his, now, infamous disease and trying to maintain his relationship with his loving wife, Jane. The strengths of this film rely solely on Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. These two actors are absolutely, one hundred percent, PHENOMENAL in these two roles. Stephen Hawking is the role that Redmayne was born to play. Hawking is portrayed as a charming and intellectually superior individual that behaves just like any one else. After a bit, we start to wonder what was every so amazing about him...then the heartbreak starts. Jane Hawking is a sweet, loving and determined person that will go to the lengths of the universe to make sure her husband, Stephen can survive. I get chills just thinking about certain scenes, some of which will most definitely be requiring a large box of Kleenex. The truth is, anything that I say here about these performances, no matter what it is, is still criminally underselling the sheer brilliance of them. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are simply incredible and I'd be even willing to go to the extreme to say that both actors will not only be nominated, but I'd be surprised if they didn't win the Oscar gold. Now, with that being said, this film's structural issues are severely hampering this film's chances at being a classic. I wasn't completely sold on the structural integrity of the film. It showed enough of the relationship aspect behind Stephen and Jane but it very briefly touched base on Hawking's intellectual discoveries and I thought that if it was a bit more balanced in that respect, it would be a near perfect film. One plot point that I did find utterly enthralling is the idea that Hawking struggles throughout the film to do simple things. These scenes are, by far, the most heart wrenching scenes to watch. James Marsh directs his actors effortlessly and can evoke the type of emotional response out of his audience through them, but when left with telling a story, Marsh falters. Marsh, known for 2012 IRA drama, Shadow Dancer proves that he is an actor's director. He cares about human drama over anything in a tangible sense, which benefits this film greatly but also harms it in the way of progression. Despite these minor infractions, The Theory of Everything is a film that everyone can enjoy and turns into a real audience movie. It is a film that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, no easy feat for any film, and this one does it effortlessly.