The Theory of Everything

This review may contain spoilers!

If you can handle the grainy and dull visual style then you're in for an incredibly good film. I would give The Theory of Everything a 7.5/10.

This is a really charming and quaint biopic, it feels very modest and the script doesn't push the boundaries rather it plays quite safe and simple with the source material. What we have in this film is a beautiful love story as well as a harrowing look into the torment of ALS and how it impacted Stephen Hawking's life. The emotional range of the script was incredibly well done and as such it is very clear how easy it is to connect to these character's struggles.

Eddie Redmayne, who played Stephen Hawking, did an incredible job at showing the personality of Hawking and not just the aspects of his pain and torment; a very calculated and subtle performance. Harry Lloyd, who played Brian, was incredibly entertaining in his moments onscreen; he also quickly formed some great chemistry with Redmayne onscreen. David Thewlis, who played Dennis Sciama, gives an exceptionally strong performance in his role of encouraging mentor. Charlie Cox, who played Jonathan Hellyer Jones, was remarkably kindly in his portrayal; his very naive and yet gracious role was wonderful to watch onscreen.

However this film was completely dominated by Felicity Jones, who played Jane Hawking. She gave such incredible range in her performance, from her initial moment of falling in love with Stephen to the intense journey she went through trying to cope with Stephen's illness and in turn assisting him and living with him. We see her stand as a strong and determined family woman, but we also see her break under the pressure and have heavy moments of self doubt. She certainly brought the best performance to this film and was absolutely not overshadowed by Redmayne at all.

The pacing within this film was awful, it dragged a lot, you certainly got easily bored during some scenes. The cinematography was quite simple and mundane, it didn't go to great lengths to bring any creativity to the film. The editing was probably what let the film down the most, not least because of the dull colouring that made the film look like a cheap television film.

Simon McBurney, who played Frank Hawking, gave a very monotone performance; he in no way seemed attached to any characters at all and he certainly had no chemistry onscreen. Maxine Peake, who played Elaine Mason, gave a very over the top performance; She seemed more like a child than supporter.