Theory of Everything is one of the must-see movies of this year.
Brilliantly directed by James Marsh, this brightly colored story of Jane and Stephen Hawking depicts their life, both good and bad. Eddie Redmayne, who portrays Stephen Hawking, ages more than 20 years throughout the movie, showing off both his mental and physical skills as an actor. Starting in 1963, Redmayne goes through Hawking’s transformation gracefully, starting with subtle movements, which then turns into speech challenges and overall body debilitation. By the time Redmayne sits in his wheelchair for the first time, he has completely taken over Hawking’s body and as an audience member, I felt as though I was watching Hawking himself on screen.
Felicity Jones plays Jane Hawking, Redmayne’s strong, though fractured wife. Jones’ acting was some of the most honest acting I have ever seen, both on screen and on stage. Watching Jones goes through life with Redmayne was both heartbreaking and beautiful. She kept her composure at all times when Redmayne would look at her, and then quickly, her eyebrow would twitch, and you would see the suffering she was going through. Jones and Redmayne created a stunning relationship, which allowed their characters to grow both individually and together. The last line of the movie, spoken by Hawkings’ computer system is, “Look what we made.” The Hawkings are watching their children play at the Queen’s palace, and this simple line brings everything full circle.
Throughout the movie, the Hawkings created a life full of intelligence, complications and deep love. Having these parents watch their children in the last moment of the movie puts aside all of the pain they went through, and brings focus to the true beauty of their life together: their children. The writing, based off of Jane Hawking’s novel “Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen” is brutally honest, but simple. Anthony McCarten, the screenwriter, created a dialogue from which the actors could make into a complex reality.
“Theory of Everything” comes out November 7, 2014.
