Director: James Marsh
Writer: Anthony McCarten (based on Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking)
Genres: Drama, Biography, Romantic
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, David Thewlis, Emily Watson
Runtime: 2 hours and 3 minutes
Language: English
Box Office: $123.7 million (on a $15 million budget)
Overview
The Theory of Everything is a biographical drama movie focusing on an important event in the life of physicist Stephen Hawking, with a key focus on his relationship with his first wife, Jane Hawking. The movie is based on Jane’s memoir and examines their relationship in hope, love and Stephen’s troubling career diagnosis of motor neuron disease (ALS).
James Marsh, who also directed Man on Wire, focuses on the – sometimes conflicted – balance between emotion and science, and transforms a mere story of extraordinary genius into a compelling tale of love, struggle, and human will. Eddie Redmayne’s performance won him the Oscar for Best Actor and made one of the best regarded films of the year.
Plot Summary
The film begins in 1963 at Cambridge University with Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), a socially introverted and overly brilliant student majoring in physics. There he meets literature student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones), and romance blossoms.
When Stephen receives his diagnosis with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), a life-altering progressive neurodegenerative disorder, the world around him crumbles. With a prognosis of two years left to live, it is no surprise that his wife, Jane, refuses to leave his side. After a long tedious fight, the couple gets married and have children together. Regardless of his condition worsening by the day—eventually losing the ability to walk, talk, or even take care of himself—with Stephen’s strong will and sharp mind still intact, he surpasses all boundaries by contributing to the STL black hole physic and his unrivaled theories of the universe’s origin.
What used to be a supportive family dynamic, quickly turns into Jane struggling to bear the burden of both the wife and the caregiver. In her quest to seek help and support, she keeps Jonathan Hellyer Jones and her loving choir director close who eventually fell in love with her. On the other hand, Stephen became romantically involved with his nurse, Elaine Mason.
As time progressed, Jane and Stephen were forced to face the truth—separating still keeps them bound together through deep mutual respect for one another. With the cameras focusing on the close bond of the couple, Stephen, now world famous, offers to take Jane to Buckingham Palace with him where she will witness his knighted promotion given to him by the Queen.
Themes & Symbolism
- Love vs. Duty
The relationship between Jane and Stephen is characterized by love, but slowly develops into obligation. In the beginning, Jane is lovingly devoted towards Stephen as his wife. On the other hand, with time, she is transformed into a full time nurse for him and their relationship becomes strained.
- The Power of the Mind
Despite the deterioration of Stephen’s body over time, his mind remains undefeated. His perseverance to continue thinking, writing and speaking even when he suffers greatly makes a strong point for the power of intellect prevailing over physical challenges.
- Time & The Universe
The researches of Stephen are on the aspect of the quantity of time, which is once again a personal fight of his, having very little of it because of his sickness.
- Sacrifice & Resilience
Sacrifice best defines Jane’s life. She disposes off her life’s ambitions to help Stephen reach his goals. The film, however, also seeks to highlight her own personal resiliency and the grace it takes to accept death.
Performances & Character Analysis
Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking
🏆 Academy Award Winning Performance 🏆
Redmayne has offered a mind-blowing shift in transformation as he articulates every detail of Stephen decline in health with true empathy and shock. Being able to provoke such intense feelings through minute alterations on his face is astonishing. Which is why he will go down in history as one of the best biographical actors.
Felicity Jones as Jane Hawking The biopic depicts Stephen Hawking’s life and academic pursuits, highlighting his relationship with his wife Jane and how their connection fueled drama and emotion at all the right moments. She brings elegance and a soft strength to her character Jane as pretty much how she performs every character she does. It’s tender but poignant at the same time. Her performance adds emotional depth making Jane more than just a supporting character, she is the heart of the film.
Cox plays Jonathan Hellyer Jones, who is a Jonathan provides the kindness and stability needed by Jane at the right time. He portrays the character with warmth and empathy so that it feels as though he is not just a guest but one who really cares.
As a Stephen’s mentor Sciama also represents an academic fatherly figure to Stephen. Support systems are especially critical in moments of struggle, and he embodies this with care.
Critical Reception & Box Office As is often the case with films based on real people, not everyone appreciates the characterization presented.
Rotten Tomatoes 80% (Critics)/84% (Audience Score) Metacritic 71 (Generally Favorable Reviews), Box Office $123.7 million worldwide
Positive Reviews: Eddie Redmayne’s Performance, “physical and ematotional transmogrification,” as put by best captures the essence of this praise. Redmayne received accolades everywhere for his each and every move in the film.
Felicity Jones Strong Presence Critics noted her having a little more to do than simply being the, “supportive wife.”
Emotionally Powerful Storytelling The film walks the fine line between romance, science, drama as well as sentiment. It does all this without straying into excessive sentimentality.
Criticisms: Simplifies Hawking’s Scientific Work Unfortunately, some film reviewers reported feeling that the focus of the film was on romance instead of physics.
❌ Observes Select Conflicts Sparingly – The depth in the marital conflicts involving the characters Stephen and Jane has been made less complicated for the sake of creating hopeful impressions.
Memorable Scenes and Most Difficult Emotional Scenes
- Stephen’s Diagnosis Scene
Learning that he has ALS is one of the hardest moments in Stephen’s life. The slow motion sequence, in addition to Redmayne’s gifted portrayal of that moment, would undoubtedly make it among the most heart-wrenching scenes in the film.
- The Wedding Scene
Jane and Stephen’s wedding vows are powerful on their own, but the understanding of the difficulties they will navigate increases the intensity. It captures romance, sorrow and hope simultaneously.
- “Look What We Made”
The moment when Stephen tells people to “Look what we made” after composing their children’s picture is quite fascinating and uncomplicated. It reminds us that even if they are separated, their love for each other persists.
- The Reverse Time Sequence
It is a mark of great talent for a filmmaker to intertwine concepts of quantum physics and black holes to time and relativity. This underlying theme can be found in the last sequence of the film where it depicts the beauty in life alongside its temporality.
Behind-The-Scenes & Additional Information
Eddie Redmayne met with Stephen Hawking in person – Redmayne devoted months into studying Hawking’s speech patterns and mannerism and even met him in person.
Stephen Hawking viewed the film praise – After watching it, he said he felt like he was watching himself. Most notably, Hawking was comfortable letting his physical voice be used in the movie.
To keep it real, a lot of those scenes were recorded where the real deals were held.
What Did I Think Overall: Should You Watch It?
✅ Watch it if you like:
✔ Documentaries about deeply inspiring lives (A Beautiful Mind, The Imitation Game)
✔ Moving stories and compelling performances
✔ Biographies highlighting their work life and personal life struggles
❌ Skip it if you do not like:
✖ More dramatic renditions or retellings of actual events
✖ Focus more on emotions than scientific investigation
Final Verdict: It is a Great and Moving Biopic
Without a doubt, The Theory of Everything has this uncanny ability to be profoundly scientific and human at the same time. Parts of the movie tackles a story of love, loss, and undying need go forth which resonates with many. The performances were exceptional and the screenplay was even more touching, making it one of the most touching biopics of the decade. 🏆✨