Film review: The Theory of Everything

Hot on the heels of Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as Alan Turing in the Imitation Game comes The Theory of Everything, another rendering of a brilliant mind, this time Stephen Hawking. The former felt at home with science and tally-ho patriotism but shied away prudishly from the intimate details that were so crucial to Turing’s story.  Intimacy is The Theory of Everything’s strong suit. Adapted from Jane Hawking’s memoir, it’s more about a relationship in extraordinary circumstances than it is about one extraordinary man. 

 

Eddie Redmayne brilliantly compresses emotion and yearning into the jerky movements of a malfunctioning body. He astounds both as the young Hawking setting out on a voyage of intellectual discovery and as the older man, crippled and paralysed but still committed to that voyage. His performance is sure to dominate conversations about the film, but Felicity Jones is just as good as Jane. Together, they make one of the films of the year.