La teoría del todo

Encompassing all the best parts of films like A Beautiful Mind by Ron Howard but creating its own signature and style to the biopic genre, James Marsh's gorgeous and beautifully compelling The Theory of Everything, the true story of Stephen and Jane Hawking, is a sensitive piece of filmmaking that stands as one of the finest movie efforts of the year. Starring Eddie Redmayne as Stephen and Felicity Jones as Jane, the two develop a masterful and sonorous dynamic that behaves as a naturalistic relationship that inhabits qualities of both love and sadness. They're a match made in heaven. Also acting as a morality tale, screenwriter Anthony McCarten puts forth intriguing questions regarding love in the shadow of someone's disability. Do you really know what is asked of you when you vow to love someone in sickness and in health? What happens when disability doesn't allow you to love the way you want? Are you better off just breaking free if you have the chance?

The film acts as a moving oil painting. Benoît Delhomme shoots to utter perfection. Intimate in scenes requiring the viewer's undivided attention, and taking the liberty to capture the essence of the time where the innocence of love offers many possibilities. The scenes ultimately feel as if we're in a dream sequence, sleeping silently as these two lives play out in our minds.

You don't get any tears or moving feelings without the bravura score of Jóhann Jóhannsson. Criminally overlooked last year in the grand scheme of things for his work on Prisoners, the composer orchestrates his best score of his career. Very likely not just my favorite score of the year so far but one of mine in the last few years. From the opening credits, Jóhannsson puts his stamp with heavy violins and beautiful piano playing. In the end credits, you can sit and marvel as the names cross the screen with the music that accompanies it.

When it comes to biopics, people tend to automatically give credit to makeup and body language when talking about a performer. Past winners like Jamie Foxx in Ray have always felt empty as a performance but people were so tied in with the mannerisms that he brought to the role, which he often did in his stand up comedy routines. In Eddie Redmayne, we get a fully realized and tender performance. The first twenty minutes of the film, prior to the diagnosis of Hawking's disease, Redmayne utilizes all the quick wit and charm to show what his Stephen loved the most of his work and his woman. Obviously going through the physical transformation must be rewarded. Contorting his body and learning the physical tics that Stephen Hawking has displayed in real life all ring true. Since his breakout work in Les Miserables, a role that should have landed him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, I was wary to believe I'd revisit a praising session with the young actor so soon. It's one of the best things offered this year.

When it comes to Felicity Jones, the emotional backbone of the entire process has to be awarded to her. With stunning works in Like Crazy under her belt, Jones takes upon a daunting and heavily emotional character, never afraid to have the audience dislike or be disappointed in what she's doing. Marsh directs her to astonishing resolve. As a leading lady, Jones ignites such fiery and compelling questions not necessarily asked before in a biopic such as this. Complex and staggering in the way she decides to portray the brave Jane, Jones allows her character to grow, and both live and learn inside of her. What's most remarkable about Jones is she makes everything seem so effortless. She's not faking anything, she's really feeling and becoming Jane. She locates all the emotions required of her to execute successfully. It's a turn I wouldn't be surprised to see runaway with the Academy Award for Best Actress.

The supporting players are no shortage of talent, though secondary to this type of story. Charlie Cox was just as good in his screen time. As Jonathan, Cox lays it all out on the table, heart on sleeve, and soul bared for all of us to see. David Thewlis, Emily Watson, and Simon McBurney are all solid but brief.

Production Designer John Paul Kelly and Costume Designer Steven Noble should be commended for their meticulous craft in bringing the time period to the screen. An Oxford University dormitory along with a dozen outfits worn by all the characters can easily be taken for granted in a film like this.

Screenwriter Anthony McCarten adapts his script from the book "Travelling to Infinity: My life with Stephen" which was written by Jane Hawking. Audiences like their fair share of love stories, but some of them, rather most of them, don't like the ugly that goes with it. In real life, people make mistakes, and do things that can make some cringe. I believe some of the more questionable and controversial things during the Hawkings marriage was merely glossed over to not paint them negatively, even though the world is well aware of what went on. I'll be honest, I knew next to nothing about Stephen Hawking and his work prior to sitting for the movie. I knew the robot voice and that's where it about ended. If anything, the film inspires me to learn more about Stephen's work and theories presented. All of those things are definitely given a back seat to a film that doesn't really require them. The Theory of Everything is not about the equations or the mathematics. It's essentially about us. It's about love, and not just in the form of marriage. We as humans learn to love ourselves, our families, and our children. They are placed in our lives but I'm not sure how much we realize what goes into maintaining those relationships. The movie makes you think of those things.

We are all familiar with the story and with Steven Hawking. His groundbreaking work 'A brief History of Time' and devastating disabilities propelled him irrevocably into the public consciousness and immortal fame.

But few of us could understand the complexities of his personal life and the shocking divorce in 1990 from his long sacrificing wife of more than 25 years. Indeed that episode served to darken his reputation in the minds of many, including myself, who felt ill at ease with anyone who could leave a partner who had done so much for him just at the long awaited moment when international fame and recognition finally arrived.

This wonderful production, so well scripted and paced throughout, serves to explain that vital anomaly in Hawking's life. And it is made all the more poignant as it is based upon the account written by his wife who has borne so much.

But it is the breathtaking performance of Eddie Redmayne as Hawking that simply blasted this film into an extraordinary level. It is difficult enough to mimic so famous a person as Hawking and it is even more difficult to portray so accurately the debilitating and gradually increasing effects of Motor Neuron Disease. But to transmit so clearly the profound emotions and inner suffering that Hawking must have experienced in his agonizing journey was a performance that left me quite speechless and at times in uncontrollable tears.

It would be a travesty of the industry if Eddie Redmayne is not nominated for an Oscar after this performance. And to my mind it was a work of art that simply cannot be equaled let alone beaten.

Have a good handkerchief ready to hand.

"There should be no boundary between human endeavour," Stephen Hawking explains during a press conference. It is this line that strikes a chord at the very centre of James Marsh's incredible biopic on one of the most brilliant scientists of our time. The Theory of Everything is not just a story about the science behind the beginnings of our universe, but the science of love; and how life's challenges that we face everyday, shape who we are and what we achieve. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones turn in phenomenal performances as the revolutionary Stephen Hawking and his former wife Jane Wilde. Eddie's mentally and physically challenging role, displaying Hawkings brilliance and motor neuron disease, are extremely commendable and impressive (a sure fire for a Best Actor nomination at next year's Oscars). On the more sensitive side, Felecity displays the endless love and powerful fight Jane brought to the Hawking household. As the years pass, their lives are changed tremendously in very profound and heart-wrenching ways. The movie does not shy away from making Hawking a complex character, as well as Jane, showing both their positive and negative sides. I really liked that the movie was able to shape them into fully well-rounded characters despite the "romance" aspect of it. The score for the film is tremendous.. absolutely outstanding! It hits all the right marks, brings upon emotions right when you are on the verge of tears, leaves you in awe after a beautiful monologue, and finishes with a melancholy but very fitting tone. The script and directing were top-notch.. right up there with the best... and the cinematography? give that guy an award already! A masterpiece to watch. While some critics may be quick to judge how the film focuses more on the romance rather than the science that made Hawking so renowned, I believe that the love is what made him who he is today. Human endeavour is endless... Stephen never gave up hope, nor did Jane... and though their lives ended up in different places, it was their years together that displayed to us how a little bit of hope can go a very, very long way.

Verdict: A beautiful story that shows how time and love are limitless... no beginning, no end (despite his earlier hypothesis). *****

In Theatres: November 7th, 2014 (USA), January 2, 2015 (UK)

This film is highly recommended.

You can certainly tell it's Oscar time when all the more dignified and personal projects inundate the movie houses in hopes of capturing the gold. For most of the other nine months, we get lesser efforts and big blockbuster spectacles to fill-in until late October arrives. Then, it's time to get serious about our cinema choices. The Theory of Everything is one such film. It carries its pedigree with style and class, even if it is a rather conventional biopic in disguise, with its main character suffering through a debilitating disease while finding the stamina to go on.

With a very literate screenplay by Anthony McCarten and accomplished direction by James Marsh, the film tells the story of famed scientist Stephen Hawking and his battle with ALS. It also concentrates on his relationship with his supportive and loving wife, Jane.

Love will conquer all. Or so it should. But the horrors of this disease and the hardships they face seem unsurmountable. We see the couple meet, fall in love, marry, have children, and grow weary of each other. Stephen achieves adoration, fame, and fortune while Jane takes a back seat to her caregiver role and bringing up the family, amid the tears and frustration they face on a daily basis. One immediately empathizes with these characters due to their tragic situations.

The two leads are splendid and their acting is peerless. Felicity Jones plays Jane. Her role may be less showy and far more understated, but the actress is perfect at showing Jane's endurance and strength in the subtlest of ways. Eddie Redmayne is Stephen Hawking and his performance is literally trans-formative. (He must have learned his craft from tons of research about Hawking and creative influence from Daniel Day Lewis.) This is an impressive physical performance, from his black horn rimmed glasses to his walking cane and distorted posture. Both will receive well-earned accolades for their memorable work. Fine supporting work by Charlie Cox as Jonathan, their loyal friend, and Simon McBurney as Stephen's father add more clarity to the film.

As with most biographical films, one sees the rise and fall of the protagonist before it arrives. This film follows that tries-and-true formula. But Marsh's direction compensates for the linear structure and predictability of the story. The director relies heavily on his actors' subtle actions to tell more about their characters than the mere words they speak. He also wisely shows Hawking's point of view by angling the camera range from a lower stance or keeping it stationary to reinforce the characters' immobility. The final scene, recapping Hawking's life in reverse, beautifully sums up Stephen's life full circle in the most visual of terms.

But The Theory of Everything is foremost a love story. The film desperately wants to be a crowd-pleaser with an uplifting message of inspiration, even when the reality and truth of their actual lives is bleaker than it appears on screen. The film glosses over some factual content to play up the human drama of this pair of young lovers. It skillfully manipulates its audience to wallow in the heartbreak. Director Marsh successfully capture the pangs of young love and bittersweet romance in this emotionally involving film.

The Theory of Everything is an immensely satisfying film with stand-out acting and skilled direction. The proof is right there on the screen, even if the facts are slightly askew. GRADE: B+

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One might think that this movie would be about esoteric theories that are beyond the capacity for most people.

You would be so wrong!

This was probably the best love story I have ever seen. I was on the edge of my seat watching Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones) as she did more and more amazing acts of love for Stephan Hawking (Eddie Redmayne). I cannot imagine anyone that fits the definition of love more than she did.

Redmayne was brilliant as Hawking.

Anthony McCarten took Jane Hawing's book and wrote a screenplay that was a thrill to watch.