The Theory of Everything Movie Blurb by Shale November 29, 2014 This movie may not appeal to everyone. It is a biopic about this nerdy academic, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) who becomes the leading theoretical physicist of our time. Perhaps you've heard of him. If so, you may enjoy this movie even if, like me, you haven't a clue about all those blackboard math scribbles that physicists seem to understand. But, don't worry, those are just a couple of fleeting scenes in this very human revealing of Hawking's life from a book by his ex-wife, Jane Wilde Hawking (Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen). The movie opens in 1963, showing a very vibrant Stephen riding a bike thru campus at Cambridge. Riding Bikes thru Campus He seems a bit scattered and a procrastinator who puts together brilliant work at the last minute that impresses his professors. Shortly after this scene, with a few tell-tale problems with his muscles not cooperating, he finally takes a fall that gets him medical attention and the diagnosis of motor-neuron disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21. (Just a note; I was not aware that Hawking and I are contemporaries. I've seen pix of him and assumed he was in his 50s, but he is a couple of years older than me, which explains the familiar setting of 1963 when I too was a young man). Of course he went into despair after such news and sort of retreated into his room. Living in Pajamas After Diagnosis Right before his prognosis of a couple of years to live, he had been falling in love with Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). She was not put off by the disease and insisted he actually live for however long he still had. She got him to push forward, continue his work at Cambridge and get his Ph.D. They also got married, he the Atheist and she the devout Catholic and had 3 kids. (Yeah, those parts are hydraulic, not muscles). Stephen & Jane in Bed The story follows this very human life thru his degenerating physical condition while his mind remained exceptional, discovering the workings of our universe. It also skims over the drifting apart of these two lovers as Jane finds comfort in another guy, Jonathan Jones (Charlie Cox) and Stephen finds comfort in Elaine Mason (Maxine Peake) his attendant. Elaine, Stephen & Jane I quite enjoyed this movie, of learning more about a prominent intellectual personality in our culture today. I also found it amazing how Eddie Redmayne managed to bring life to his character thru the progression of this disease where his body was bent into the wheelchair, his mouth was contorted and speech slurred. He managed to make me forget that this was an actor, even to the point when he could not speak at all but still expressed feelings with his eyes. Of course at this time he was given the computerized hand communication voice that is so familiar today as that of Stephen Hawking. Besides having an exceptional mind, Hawking has had an exceptionally long life with an illness that originally was supposed to kill him by age 25. He has survived for half a century with a disease that kills most within a couple of years after diagnosis. Altho it is rare, some ppl who have early onset of ALS in their teens do live for decades and apparently Hawking fell into that demografic. (My wife had ALS, diagnosed when she was 48 and died within 2 years. During that time I saw some of the progression of the disease as shown in this movie, the loss of muscle mass and control to the point of total care.)
Oh, Shale, ALS is a cruel disease. I'm so sorry you and your wife lived it. I lost two friends to it in the same week a couple years ago. They did not know the other. I'm off to see this film tomorrow.
Right after I read your excellent review I put this movie on hold at the library. I'm still waiting for the DVD to become available (more than 400 holds!). Anyway, I'll leave another comment when I finally get to see this. I can't wait P.S. Sorry to hear about what you and your wife went through :-(
Update: I did see the film the next day. I spent most of the time remembering my friend Eric, and Redmayne's portrayal of "learning to fall" triggered a lot. I saw those same stumbles.
Just got an automated notification from the library that this movie is finally waiting for me to pick up. Can't wait! Welcome back, Shale
