ONE ELEGANT FILM TO COMBINE IT ALL - "THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING"

So… I’m finally through all last years’ Oscar films! Go me! As I have said multiple times, I have been very curious about this film. And I have read a lot about it, articles reviews and interviews. It’s funny that really, I usually try and avoid that sort of thing – I don’t like to have my impressions “tainted” by preconceptions. Yet, of course, this was pretty much unavoidable. This may have been the reason I was slightly underwhelmed by the film. Just slightly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome film as we will discuss below, but it just, I don’t know, I guess I was expecting a little too much. But at the end of the day the film is yet ANOTHER film about the true story of an extraordinary human being who overcame truly terrible circumstances. I mean, I am not trying to reduce the story of Stephen Hawking in any way shape or form here. But I’m just remarking it’s a specific genre that Hollywood adores. And with a person like Hawking, almost definitely one of the greatest scientific minds humanity has ever produced, at the centre of it all the film was pretty much earmarked for “great things”.

I guess the key here is to focus on the films good sides – and they are many, not least the acting – and recognise the film for the quality piece of work it is. Quality does not always mean original of course, but then again, when mainstream cinema is not exactly a Mecca for invention and complete artistic originality. They don’t call it show “business” for nothing ya know…

In case you have been living under a stone for the last six months, The Theory of Everything is a biographical work, taking a look at the life of Stephen Hawking. We pick up in his early days when he is embarking on his PhD in physics on the one hand and his relationship with his first wife Jane on the other. But along with the clear signs of brilliance he shows and the deepening love between him and Jane, it slowly becomes apparent something is not quite right… ALS (as we know it now) strikes when he is only 21 and the medical institutions of the time give him only 2 years to live. Stephen and Jane however, are not to be defeated that easily. With Jane at his side, Stephen embarks on a quest for “the theory of everything” which will form the basis of his ground-shaking work over the decades.

I will be honest with you, I didn’t recognise the name of director James Marsh straight away. Silly of me really; as you know I am very much a documentary nerd and actually really enjoyed Marsh’s two well-known documentaries Man on a Wire and project Nim. Marsh brings to the documentary a certain sense of… Calmness. Of course Hawking is a larger than life character and his relationship with Jane is characterised by ups and downs of extraordinary proportions. But through camera work and beautiful staging of little moments mean that while the film is indeed the story of a famous couple with an extraordinary life, it is also very clearly a deep and insightful film about living with disability, as the disabled and as the carer. And the cast – the award winning cast one should say – are absolutely essential in this portrayal. I distinctly remember reading several interviews with Eddie Redmayne where he explained that in his on screen physical transformation (due to ALS), no prosthetics were used at all. I mean this makes sense, After all any transformation brought about by the disease after all is a deformation of the body and muscles – the patients are not handed prosthetics they are obliged to wear. But it still takes a whole new level of dedication and study to form and hold this transformation in the time it takes to get the footage to make a 2 hour film. I was especially touched – and impressed -  by “day dream” sequence when Hawking watches a pencil fall during a q and a session and dreams of being able to just get out of his chair and put it back on the table. On the one hand watching Redmayne “unfold”  back into (something a lot closer to) his real self is extraordinary to behold, on the other hand,  the simple yet at this point completely unattainable wish (putting the pencil back on the table) completely puts into perspective what ALS and other conditions like it do to the human body.

And a mention simply MUST go to the extraordinary Felicity Jones who plays Jane. In the beginning of course, her part is relatively simply, she is the adoring wife and partner, the beautiful girl who sweeps Hawking off his feet. But then of course, with the advent of ALS everything changes. Her role as a carer gets harder and more complex every day, everything changes, every day brings new challenges to the relationship and Jones portrays this constant evolution with subtlety, grace and a LOT of talent.

The film combines the careful eye of a documentary filmmaker picking up on details you and eye would miss, with all the elements of a period film (well quite a chunk of the film is set in the ‘60s you know) and an extraordinary biography. The result is not a mish-mash but a glorious combination of the best of all the worlds. I advise you put any cynicism to one side and get stuck straight in. There is a lot to enjoy. A lot.