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The Theory of Everything (2015)
Daniel's Review
‘The Theory of Everything’ tells the story about a theory of, well, everything, but in the process of finding out about a theory of everything, the film tells the journey of an iconic genius Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) as the film tells through the struggles of unfortunately being diagnosed with motor neuron disease.
‘The Theory of Everything’ is basically a romantic biopic, which explores Hawking’s life of finding out the theory for time.
The movie is acted very well. I give praise to Eddie Redmayne for portraying Stephen Hawking, as he did a very good job. Felicity Jones should also get some credit as she was great as Hawking’s wife, Jane.
While the movie has a great cast and the acting stands out from this film, the film does have some problems. The story is fine, but it isn’t spectacular as being told as a love story. The film does become interesting in the middle half of the film as I found the second half of this movie, way more interesting than the first, but the first half was a bit dull and lacked character development, as in my opinion I couldn’t really connect with the characters as a whole and their relationship, and because of that, I couldn’t really connect to Stephen and Jane at first, although their characters do grow towards the film’s conclusion.
While the film does have some slow pacing, the film does have some moments. Some scenes actually help make me care about the characters, an example being a scene on the beach which helped create emotion to the character of Stephen.
Overall, ‘The Theory of Everything’ is quite enjoyable at times and it does has its moments of brilliance, with a great cast, and great acting, ravishing sets and the direction handled with care, but the film does have a sluggish flow and was dull at certain parts of the film. But it is still an interesting journey about Stephen Hawking, and if you are a fan of biopic's, you will certainly enjoy 'The Theory of Everything'.
Score: 6.8/10
Published: February 9th, 2015
Details
Review
Release Date: January 29th, 2015
Studio: Universal Pictures, Focus Features
Runtime: 123 mins
Rated: PG
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Nic's Review
Biopics often pander too much to the Academy to be taken seriously by casual and frequent filmgoers alike. And 'The Theory of Everything' does little to change that; it is very much an 'awards movie'. But it has a charm to it that many biopics lack in their obsession with objective realism.
Unlike 'The Imitation Game', 'The Theory of Everything' tells the tale of a man who is still alive today. Hence there is a sense of uncomfortable intrusion, an invasion of privacy, into the lives of real people that other biopics don't always possess. But this is the very thing that lends 'The Theory of Everything' its charm; it feels like a window into the struggles and frustrations of Stephen Hawking's life, work and marriage. We see him for a real man and not the hand-of-god scientist genius that he is often framed to be in the media. All told, it feels like what a biopic should be.
As a film, it has its issues. The camera work seems questionable at times. That is, things audiences take for granted like focusing, framing and cutting appear occasionally messy. The juxtaposition of some establishing shots just plain doesn't work.
The film also gets a lot right though. The acting is beyond superb and cannot be faulted. Eddie Redmayne deserves every award he earns for his lead performance as Hawking. Not only does he convincingly portray Hawking's physical disability but even when in his most restricted state, can pull off nuanced emotion with little more than his eyes and mouth. Felicity Jones doesn't have the physical limitation but she rivals Redmayne with the earnestness of her performance. The duo's chemistry feels real, their romance true. Tragedy works best when onscreen characters and their relationships feel believable, as it does here. And tragedy is the hidden tone underlying much of the film.
The score complements this, whimsical and hopeful yet foreboding at the same time. The choice to light several scenes with a bit more of a sepia tone also helps the film's charm and tragedy.
While not a masterpiece by any means, 'The Theory of Everything' is an admirable film that lures its audience in with its whimsy only to snap its jaws shut on their heartstrings. It is a biopic, but it's an engaging one at that.
Score: 8.9/10