Short Review: The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything is based on the memoir by Jane Hawking (Stephen Hawking's first wife) which chronicles Hawking's life from the early signs and eventual diagnosis of Motor Neuron Disease to his success in the field of modern physics.

Eddie Redmayne deservedly nabbed Best Actor at the 2015 Academy Awards with his moving and humane portrayal of Stephen Hawking, he also shares an excellent chemistry with an outstanding Felicity Jones (Jane) as the early stages of their love affair are quite sweet and engaging.  However, the film sags considerably in the middle and despite the fact the film is well made and tremendously well acted it feels overly safe and conventional as though it willingly avoided depicting anything that may have reflected badly on Hawking, take for example leaving Jane for another woman (though Jane was hardly innocent in all of this). Hardly any screen time was devoted to this part of his life, however despite this walking on eggshells style of filmmaking it's hard to deny that Hawking will always remain an hugely inspiring figure as he proves that there should be no boundaries to human endeavour. 

2.5/5