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HK Mag ad.pdf 1 12/2/2014 6:50:10 PM
FILM
Edited by Evelyn Lok
evelyn.lok@hkmagmedia.com
The Theory of Everything PPPPP
Directed by James Marsh. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis,
Charlie Cox. Category IIA. 123 minutes. Opened Dec 4.
If pondering black holes isn’t really your cup of tea and ripples in the fabric of space-time don’t
float your boat, then you’ll probably enjoy this biopic about scientist Stephen Hawking quite a
bit. Because “The Theory of Everything” is really just a theory on Stephen Hawking’s love life.
For all the scientific discussion in this film, Hawking may as well have been a chef.
James Marsh, the Academy Award-winning director of “Man on Wire,” tackles this
challenging biopic by basing it on Jane Wilde Hawking’s biography “Traveling to Infinity: My
Life with Stephen.” It starts off introducing us to a young, active—albeit dorky and socially
awkward—Stephen Hawking, crashing through the cobblestoned roads of Cambridge on his
bicycle. The young cosmology student meets arts student Jane Wilde (the very pretty Felicity
Jones) at a party, eventually sweeping her off her feet… until an accident leads Stephen to
a life-changing diagnosis of motor neuron disease (ALS). The doctors predict that he has
two years left to live. Despite these odds, the promising young scientist marries Jane, and
fights his harrowing illness with her by his side.
Rather than a story focusing on the achievements of the great scientist, probably for fear
of the audience falling asleep at all the boring science talk (and indeed, all remaining science
talk in this film seems to be pointed at a greater metaphor for Love and Life), Marsh’s take
on Hawking’s life zooms in on the struggles of his domestic life—insecurities, arguments and
jealousy silently boil between the two—as well as love, sacrifice, and ultimately, distance.
It seeks to show us that despite Stephen’s professional achievements, his private life is its
own story.
The film wants to be a shining, lofty romance, yet it focuses on the couple’s imperfections.
Then it hollowly dresses it up with a ponderous investigation of the nature of time within
Stephen’s research: time he has little of before his illness takes over. There’s also a real lack
of time spent actually showing us the couple falling in love: Their “chemistry” is illustrated as
nervous glances across the room, and one cute but clichéd slow dance under the stars. Next
thing you know, they have multiple kids. The bulk of this love story revolves around how tired
Jane is of dealing with Stephen’s crap—hardly anything for us to swoon over, except with
respect for the real Jane Wilde for single-handedly rearing a family.
The release of the first Stephen Hawking biopic meant that all eyes would be on leading
man Eddie Redmayne. Would he just be sitting mute in a chair for half the movie But there’s
nothing to worry about here. Redmayne’s performance is exceptional. He nails all of his
character’s emotions with his eyes alone: It’s subtle, fantastic acting.
As for Felicity Jones, her portrayal of Jane is supposed to convey an unlikely and formidable
strength, wrapped in a youthful and dainty appearance. It translates fairly well in scenes where
Jane is supposedly still young, but it loses force as the plot moves on.
The film is beautifully shot, with the soft dreary light and vintage charm of small-town England
the whole way through—matching pretty well with an equally soft and dreary romance. There’s no
grand sweeping love affair here: just quiet sacrifice with the occasional joys and successes of real
life. It raises the question, though: why would you go to a cinema to see real life Evelyn Lok
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HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, december 5, 2014 45