Terrific acting highlights in James Marsh’s gripping Hawking bio ‘The Theory of Everything’
Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous and admired figures in the world. A brilliant mathematician, cosmologist, and researcher into the relativity of space and time, he’s a university professor, a popular guest on the lecture circuit, and the author of many nonfiction books that make complex science comprehensible to lay readers. (His A Brief History of Time was on the bestseller charts for five years.) He’s such a pop culture icon that he’s even appeared as himself in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Simpsons.
Almost all of the above was accomplished with Hawking confined to a wheelchair during the inexorable progression of a motor neuron disease related to ALS. The image of Hawking slouched in his motorized wheelchair, communicating through his robotic voice synthesizer, is so well known, it’s difficult to imagine him any other way. But that changes with The Theory of Everything. A smart, funny, and tender biographical drama that begins with Hawking as a vigorous young grad student at Cambridge, it also tells the enduring love story of Hawking and his first wife, Jane.
Scripted by Anthony McCarten (from a memoir written by Jane Hawking), the film is directed by James Marsh, who made the absorbing documentary Man On Wire. Marsh proves to be just as adept with narrative drama, abetted here by his two stars, the exceptional Eddie Redmayne as Stephen (yes, the Oscar race starts here), and the formidable Felicity Jones as Jane.
They meet at a campus party in 1963. He’s studying science, her interest is the arts. She’s a devout Church of England girl, praying to what Stephen calls “the celestial dictator.” He’s a daredevil bicyclist and coxswain of his rowing team; she’s demure in every respect. Yet they spark, and soon he’s bringing her home to meet his bohemian family.
His mentor, Professor Sciama (David Thewlis), introduces Stephen to mathematical theorems, challenging the young Dr. Who fan to look at time and space in a new way. But even as Stephen’s passions for his theories—and for Jane—increase, incidents of minor clumsiness accrue into serious motor malfunctions. Diagnosed with ALS, he’s given two years to live. But Jane bullies him out of his initial self-pity, determined that they should go through with their wedding plans. As they produce their first two children, and Stephen earns his doctorate, his scientific and intellectual career soars despite the decline in his physical health.
Redmayne is terrific at every stage of Stephen’s life. Gradually robbed of an actors’ usual tools—movement, voice, facial expression—he still manages to convey Stephen’s lively intelligence, his active participation in the life around him, his dry sense of humor. (Often, with no more than a glance or a sigh.) He doesn’t mimic Hawking; he embodies him. Jones is just as wonderful, in Jane’s unexpected grit.
The ruthless progress of the disease is matched only by Stephen’s insistence that they live as “normal” a life as possible, leaving the burden of tending to Stephen, their kids, and running the household, to Jane, who’s trying to earn her own Ph.D. Marsh deftly charts the subtle shift in family dynamics when a young, widowed church choirmaster (Charlie Cox) effectively joins the Hawking family as chief caregiver to all of them. Meanwhile, the filmmakers ease lots of science into the dialogue as Stephen quests for the “theory of everything”—the elusive equation that will make sense out of life.
It’s not the science, but the emotional journey the characters take that makes the film so riveting. Without assigning any fault, it’s made heartbreakingly plausible how even two people who have been through so much together might find their needs changing over time. Who could blame Jane for needing to leave the marriage? Who could ever forgive her? But Stephen understands this paradox better than anyone. One of the most affecting aspects of the film is the way their friendship deepens throughout the ups and downs of their marriage, and beyond.
Remarkably clear-headed, yet moving, Marsh’s film defies expectations of what an “uplifting” biopic can be—just as Hawking (now 72 in real life) defied all expectations. The Theory of Everything simply celebrates tenacity—in life, love, and ideas.
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
***** (out of four)
With Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, and David Thewlis. Written by Anthony McCarten. From the book by Jane Hawking. Directed by James Marsh. A Focus Features release. Rated PG-13. 123 minutes.
