Movie Review: The Theory of Everything

Stephen Hawking may be best known for trying to prove the theory of how the universe was created, but that is not the subject of James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything. This movie proves another theory: “behind every great man, there’s a great woman”.

When we first meet Stephen (brilliantly played by Eddie Redmayne) he is on the brink of greatness; an aspiring cosmologist, studying space and time to earn his PhD at Cambridge. The stars align when he meets beautiful Jane Wilde (Jones). His eccentricity intrigues her, despite his lack of spirituality. As they introduce themselves not by their names but as their majors (Science meets Arts) we see they instantly understand each other.

Physically, Stephen is gangly and slightly crooked with perpetually smudged glasses. At first it can easily be interpreted as youthful awkwardness, but his clumsy movements become progressively worse and soon he is diagnosed with ALS (the disease we all became familiar with due to the ubiquitous ice bucket challenge on social media this past summer). Despite his diagnosis and given 2 years to live, Jane is determined to fight. She is in love and it’s all Stephen needs to emerge from his depression. She doesn’t coddle his disability and at first they deal with the disease effortlessly. They marry, have children and the 2 year death sentence comes and goes.

His health does however continue to decline and Jane is careful to quietly incorporate solutions knowing he won’t readily adapt to them. But Jane is overwhelmed managing the household and caring for 2 children and a disabled husband. To alleviate this stress, Jane’s mother (Watson) ridiculously suggests she join the church choir and when Jane begins a platonic relationship with the director, Jonathan, he steps in and assists the family. When a third child arrives and strain is too much and finally medical assistance is required despite Stephen’s reluctance. It’s at this point we start to see the unraveling the marriage, especially after an incident finds Stephen unable to verbally communicate.

Through the pain and anguish, they still mutually decide to go on with their lives retaining the respect, love and dignity that kept them together for so long. Eventually Hawking finally recognizes that he wouldn’t still be alive and he wouldn’t be the great man he is if he had not met and loved Jane Wilde revealed in an endearing final scene.

Eddie Redmayne became Stephen Hawking in this film. He spent many hours learning how to control his body and studying ALS patients. At a viewing, Hawking has said he felt like he was watching himself . There is an obvious comparison of Redmayne’s performance to Daniel Day Lewis’s role as Christy Brown in My Left Foot. We all know Mr. Lewis won an Oscar for that role and Redmayne is certain to follow that path. Jones is equally transformed as Jane Hawking and their chemistry on screen is palpable. David Thewlis also makes a great appearance as Stephen Hawking’s professor.

The Theory of Everything is a beautiful love story but an also an inspirational tale. You will leave your theater seat knowing there are no limitations to greatness, but when you add love to the equation you will witness miracles.