"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Friday, February 13, 2015

The Theory of Everything (2014, PG-13)


Best picture nominee #6 is, like The Imitation Game, a period biopic about a British genius who finds himself existing outside of conventional society.  In Alan Turing’s case, he was a code-breaking mathematician persecuted for his sexuality by the country he helped save.  This film, however, is about Stephen Hawking, a paradigm-shifting physicist diagnosed at a young age with a debilitating disease.  Overall, I’d say The Theory of Everything is a better-made film than The Imitation Game, although if we’re talking Stephen Hawking biopics, I prefer Hawking.

Perhaps because it’s largely based on Jane Hawking’s memoir about her marriage to Stephen, this film is less concerned about math, science, and the universe than it is about love and how disability can challenge it.  While Stephen remains the headliner, Jane’s story, that of a young woman who decides to throw her lot in with the man she loves for whatever time he has, gets a significant amount of focus as well.  We see their shy early flirtations, his fear and her devotion in the wake of his diagnosis, their hopeful marriage, and their life together, the length of which defies all medical expectation.  We see her increasing struggle to be his sole caregiver, his devastating frustration with his declining mobility, and the care providers and nurses who gradually slip into the cracks spreading through their marriage.

It’s undoubtedly a lovely film, wonderfully shot and well-realized – the script moves thoughtfully through the events of the Hawkings’ lives, and the final sequence is especially well-done.  Yet, the reason I’d choose the cheaper, less-polished Hawking over it is because Hawking is about a physicist with a disability while The Theory of Everything is about a disabled man who does physics.  Obviously, being told in your 20s that you only have two years to live is a crushing blow, and you won’t always appreciate living decades beyond that prediction when you lose control of your motor functions, can’t feed, clothe, or clean yourself, and are no longer able to use your voice.  Everyone knows that’s a horrifically unfair hand to be dealt, and I don’t want to diminish the monumental challenges Hawking has faced.  However, the movie tends to wallow in the misery and struggle, and the achievements and bright spots are never allowed too much time at the fore.  A lot of this is down to Eddie Redmayne’s performance as Stephen.  I can’t deny that it’s pretty transformative and will likely win him the Oscar, and I know that, because the film cover so much progression of his illness, this is one instance where hiring a disabled actor would have been difficult, but it’s still the sort of role that it’s hard to see an able-bodied actor play.  There are times when it just feels too much like cripface. 

I should mention that Felicity Jones (best known to me as Catherine in Northanger Abbey) plays Jane, a woman worn down by circumstance, with quiet strength.  The film also features David Thewlis (Professor Lupin!) and Emily Watson, and I particularly want to highlight Harry Lloyd (Son of Mine or Viserys Targaryen, depending on your fandom) as Stephen’s university chum Brian.  The scene where Stephen confides his diagnosis to Brian is probably my favorite scene in the film – Brian’s reaction is so startlingly genuine and heartfelt.

Warnings

Heavy subject matter, some drinking/smoking, and light sexual references.

No comments:

Post a Comment