The Theory Of Everything

This is the adult, classy version of The Fault in Our Stars.

Based on the true story, Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking – a Cambridge physics student in 1963 who is living life, being goofy and falling madly in love with Jane (Felicity Jones).

As his studies take him to unheard of areas of theory that are setting the academic world on fire, and his romance is setting his heart on fire, his body is giving out. Stephen has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and the young, vibrant man is told he has just 2 years to live.

The Theory of Everything is not some historical look at Hawking’s work, which is good for the 99% of us who would have trouble grasping it all. The movie is a character study of the man and his relationship with a wife and family that refused to give up or let him give up because inside of a body that was failing, a mind greater than just about any other on the face of the planet was thriving.

Director James Marsh and writer Anthony McCarten (based on the book by Jane Hawking) touch on every aspect of this story that will impact your heart and mind.

One the one hand, we are watching a story about a man who is facing the most dire of challenges anyone can encounter, which gives Redmayne a chance to show his brilliance as an actor. It is breathtaking to see Redmayne take us through the physical breakdown Hawking faced. Every change in how the man carries himself, the incremental loss of muscle functions, the trouble speaking and the ultimate display of Hawking as we know him today is shockingly accurate, graphic and heartbreakingly real because of Redmayne.

Then, on top of the physical performance, he must capture the spirit of the man as he goes from carefree kid to serious, exalted legend. It is a performance capturing both the physical changes and the emotional maturity, and that is amazing to watch.

On the other hand, we also are witnessing a love story and a troubled marriage, which gives Jones a chance to shine. With brutal honesty, we see the difficulties the two face as ALS affects Hawking more and more, which challenges the relationship as both Stephen and Jane start to feel frustration and seek comfort.

Jones gives Jane an intensity and sense of purpose that saves Stephen from falling down, but, more importantly, gives us a look at a woman who is quite accomplished herself and how she is making sacrifices to support her husband. Redmayne has the role that is memorable, but the movie would fail without Jones giving an equally compelling performance.

The Theory of Everything somewhat white washes and glosses over the end of the Hawking marriage a bit, what happened after the events of this movie and Stephen’s own ego, but what you do see is one of the best movies of the year.

The Theory Of Everything is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and suggestive material.