Review: The Theory of Everything

It’s definitely award season when there is a sudden influx of biographical films hitting the cinemas all trying to bag the big prizes. This awards season is no different with 5 films Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, American Sniper, Selma and The Theory of Everything all vying for the top prizes.

The Theory of Everything could easily have been the straightforward story of an extraordinary mind struggling to overcome tremendous adversity, though that wouldn’t really of set it apart from a film you’d be likely to find on Channel 5 at 3.00 on a Saturday afternoon. Whilst the film does focus on the life of Stephen Hawking during his studies at Cambridge and his diagnosis with motor neurons disease in his 20s, the central point of the film is his relationship with his wife Jane and the toll the condition has on their marriage.

In order for a film focused on this subject matter it needs strong performances from its leading figures and it certainly achieves that from its two frontal figures Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones with both performances focus on transformations, one physical and one emotional. The biggest compliment that can be given to both performances is that throughout the film you don’t feel like you are watching an actor pretending to be someone else, you are watching the real people.

 Most of the attention of The Theory of Everything has been on Redmayne’s performance and his approach to his character’s affliction, which can sometimes be a precarious move and backfire with Tugg Speedman-esque ramifications, and he adopts the role effortlessly, making the transformation both physically and emotionally draining, however it’s Felicity Jones who steals the show as Hawking’s wife, Jane.

Her performance starts as the powerhouse independent, strong woman we have been accustomed to in past Academy Awards. She enjoys debates, arts and is more determined than Hawking himself to stay strong once he is diagnosed. Throughout the film however she is transformed into a fragile, broken woman struggling to cope, maintain the family unit and stay a strong figure. It is a subtle and wonderful performance from Jones who wouldn’t be undeserving of the nob for Best Actress at the upcoming Academy Awards, along with Redmayne who has been heavily tipped to bring home the Best Actor gong.

As a film, however, it can’t but feel like it is relying a little too much on the strength of the performances of the leading actors and the supporting cast (David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney and Maxine Peake all appear). Whilst it never really manages to shake the feeling of a standard biographical drama, it has the human condition at the centre of the film as opposed to being a checklist of the well-known events of Hawking’s life.

It also has a cheeky sense of humour, perhaps a nod to Hawking’s own sense of humour, being a well-known fan of comedy appearing in The Simpsons and Futurama as well as a cameo at the live Monty Python shows. The film also has one of the best and funniest reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey we’ve seen in a long time so keep your eye out for that.

At the end of the day it’s not the most ground-breaking of biographical films cinematically, however the performances from its leading figures manage to set the film apart from many other attempts to turn an extraordinary story into an extraordinary film.