Review of The Theory of Everything (2014) by Bhbarry — 16 Nov 2014

"Theory of Everything" is, as most people know, the story of Stephen Hawking and his adult life-long battle with a motor deficiency disease (ALS). It is also the story of self-sacrifice and dedication as told through the eyes of his wife of 25 years, Jane, who, together with Anthony McClaren, co authored the screenplay based on her book "My Life With Stephen".

The film was directed by James Marsh and stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. One must approach this film as both a factual summary of the trials and efforts of a genius confined to the prison of his voiceless and motionless body and, also, as an entertainment vehicle.

For the former the film serves its purpose well and is made even more believable by Mr. Redmayne’s remarkable likeness to Mr. Hawkng and the performances given by both he and Ms. Jones. As to the latter, the film is certainly not "entertaining" in the true sense of the word but represents one of those "should see" see films because of its biographical data and the efforts of its two stars.

This is indeed a difficult film to rate for much depends on the needs and desires of the viewer and whether he or she considers watching Mr. Redmayne’s character struggle with a catastrophic disability for over 2 hours worth the effort.

My experience of the film may well have been affected by the fact that I saw a PBS documentary with the real life Hawkings a few days earlier. That being said, I give the film a 7 rating because it basically is locked to the actual story of the subjects with little or no poetic license or interest creating insertions.

. Remember, though, as with "My Left Foot",also a fairly difficult film to watch, it did earn Danel Day Lewis an Oscar and I wouldn’t be surprised if the same fate awaited Mr. Redmayne.