Review of The Theory of Everything (2014) by Kevin M — 05 Mar 2018

If it weren't for Eddie Redmayne's performance as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones' performance as his wife, Jane Wilde, The Theory of Everything wouldn't be half as good. The depiction of Hawking's physical deterioration thanks to Redmayne was well-worth the Oscar he won for it.

By the end of the film, he's almost unrecognizable. Felicity Jones plays his loving wife, who also turns in a great performance. My problem with the film is understanding exactly what director James Marsh was aiming for: it focuses on their relationship while at the same time focusing on Hawking's revolutionary work.

It was sad to see what actually happened to the love that began as an unbreakable force turn into something that lost it's spark. Hawking initially sets out to find an equation that allows him to reverse time so he could find the beginning.

The final scene of the film mirrors that with his relationship with Jane. At first, I wasn't crazy about that scene, but I understand what they were going for: going in reverse to show us what Hawking's personal "beginning of time" was.

The scene felt a bit sentimental, and perhaps a tad cliche, but it was cute. Maybe the ending of their relationship related to his final thesis: that time is boundless, and so are human beings. The performances and Hawking's final speech are more than enough to warrant a viewing here.

I was definitely impressed.