Review of The Theory of Everything (2014) by Mikael K — 03 Mar 2015

Biopics tend to be a highly divisive genre among film enthusiasts. Some see them as classic, stylish and genuine, others as formulaic and too often lacking in artistic ambition. I have a weakness for them, tending to appreciate the often familiar sentiment over admittedly often lacking innovation.

"The Theory of Everything" is a paragon of a stylish but safe biopic, one that I enjoyed greatly. Eddie Redmayne portrays astrophysicist Stephen Hawking who has spent the last 50 years searching a unifying theory of everything. We open in Cambridge where young student Hawking is beginning his studies for a doctorate in physics, yet indecisive about the subject of his thesis. The year is 1963.

Hawking gets swept away by two forces at the same time: the theory of black holes and Jane, a clever arts major into medieval poetry. A love for the wonders of the universe only intensifies by the birth of love between confident Jane and the awkward young physicist. And then happens what we know must. Hawking, increasingly clumsy, is diagnosed with motor neuron disease and given a life estimate of two years. Jane decides to marry him and follow through the remaining time. "This will not be a battle," Stephen's father warns her, "This will be a bitter defeat.".

Years go by, Stephen deteriorates, the mysteries of the universe might unravel of merely deceive the scientist. Jane and Stephen have children and struggle with everyday life. They need to manage the kids, their respective academic careers as well as an ever present tension stemming from differing world views: Jane is a devote Christian, whereas Stephen can only find in himself to worship the infinite wonder of the physical universe. James Marsh directs all this with confidence, introducing enough visual mastery to make the movie more than your average biopic.

And of course there is the acting, quite superb throughout. Aspiring young actors playing real-life characters are almost as beloved by the academy as any actors portraying disability plausibly. If Redmayne hadn't won an Oscar for his Hawking, it would have almost looked like a deliberate offence. He is plausible and strong in his presence. All the other actors also do well, but I think that Felicity Jones is the true star of the flick. She is marvelously deep as Jane, communicating so much of what the script unfortunately lacks.

The story is an adaptation by Anthony McCarten from Jane's memoir, and perhaps this is the reason why the storytelling treats her a bit too harshly for dramatic balance. The point of view is largely hers, she is the true protagonist, I'd even say, but we are kept a bit too obviously away from anything negative concerning Stephen while her struggle to support her family and remain faithful- both religiously and sexually- is out there in the open. "The Theory of Everything" is polite almost to a fault, and too blatantly so. I don't mean that the film should be an expose of Hawking's notoriously difficult character, but it definitely feels like an expose of his wife, even during the times we are supposed to get close to the physicist's psyche.

There are a lot of imperfections in the film, but as it is fittingly about the quest to find a unifying theory of the universe, it works very well viewed from a broader angle. Idealization of Hawking, momentary lapses into sentimentality and a bit sanitized feel in the storytelling and soundtrack all disappear when you look at everything the film manages to say about human relationships and humanity's drive to explore the wonders of the reality around us. What's most important is that "The Theory of Everything" is genuinely touching, a quality easily lost in a film so ambitiously stylish and proper.