The best thing about biopics is that normally you are guaranteed a interesting story about an interesting person. Because these people are real (or loosely ‘real’) they provide the audience with a vested interest to engage in the film. A current example with a lot of Oscar hype is The Theory of Everything – the story of the world’s most celebrated physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking.
Few biopics focus on a subject who is still alive, but on this occasion every day seems like a miracle. Stephen Hawking has defied the odds on every turn in his astonishing life. At the age of 22 he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease while studying at the University of Oxford. He was given only two years to live.
That was 51 years ago and the man, albeit refined to a wheelchair and speaking through the operating system of a 70s robotic voice is still alive and still working today.
The film is based off the autobiography of his wife, Jane Hawking. The story primarily focuses on their relationship; starting with their meeting and then falling in love. It explores their hardships as his disease starts to take a toll on his body, but also the effects on Jane who is his sole carer while they try to raise three kids.
At this point, audience opinions will divide, as the script often deviates into pure cheese. Even the shot choices and setups reek of ‘Oscar-bait’ which have paid dividends given its five Academy Awards nominations.
Lead actor, Eddie Redmayne is up for Best Actor, which he could win (and I’d be okay with that). His portrayal is mesmerising, and even his appearance is spookily accurate, and often it’s the physical performances that impresses the Academy into getting a gold statue but its his ‘show don’t tell’ performance that’ll earn this relatively unknown actor a A-list career.
I’m not surprised to see the soundtrack up for an Oscar as well. It is atmospheric enough you don’t notice its there, but as a narrative-driving device it is beautiful; and keeps that lump sitting in your throat the whole two hours.
The second opinion of this film is that is doesn’t explore enough of Hawking’s achievements, barely scraping the surface of his contributions to science, and using his meteoric rise to being one of the smartest men on earth is a side plot that merely interweaves with what is overall in this film – a love story.
Don’t worry too much about that. With Valentine’s Day heading our way, The Theory of Everything is a perfectly pleasurable experience and perfect for date night.
The Theory of Everything is now showing at Palace Electric Cinemas and theatres across Canberra
