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This is the blog where I talk about the latest movies I've seen. These are my two Schnauzers, Rufus (left) and Marley (right, RIP). As of now, the Double Hollywood Strikes are officially over. May the next strikes not last as long as these ones did.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The Theory of Everything

Jethro's Note: As you may have noticed, my site is different.

An Oscar-winner for Man on Wire, director James Marsh now examines the life of scientist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, Jane. Jane's memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen. was the basis for the film called The Theory of Everything.

In 1963, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) studies cosmology at Cambridge. Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) is an arts student at the same college. The two meet at a party and fall for each other. Stephen's genius impresses instructor Dennis Sciorma (David Thewlis), who mentors him through his doctoral studies and beyond. Stephen's developing Motor Neurone Disease threatens to destroy his future. Nevertheless, Jane sticks with her eventual husband through thick and thin.

That pretty much describes the film.

Redmayne is wonderfully cast as Hawking. His first scenes endear him to the audience with likability and charm. His humor persists even as his mobility decreases. When he finally loses his voice and has to speak through a computer (the real Hawking), his spirit remains. It helps that his makeup job makes him the spitting image of the real man.

Jones's performance is also a highlight. She willingly defies Hawking's borrowed time by loving him. That alone earns her the audience's admiration. She earns the audience's empathy as she and Stephen mutually split.

Johann Johansson provides a magnificent and emotive score. Its pure serenity makes it the best part of the film. The set and costume design set the decades quite nicely. There are some great celestial and earthbound images from cinematographer Benoit Delhomme. The crew firmly establishes the film as a pretty movie.

The Theory of Everything is a great use of 123 minutes. Even if physics and what-not aren't your thing, the well-told love story might attract you. It's a definite crowd pleaser.

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