Relationships are hard. Forces at work within them bring stress and strain, making it difficult for relationships to work and last.
Add that stress and strain to an incurable disease and you have the formula for the docudrama, The Theory of Everything.
The story follows the courtship and marriage of Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones). These two meet at Cambridge, where he is a student of cosmology and she a student of medieval Spanish poetry. He’s an atheist and she a believer and member of the Church of England. They are two opposites that attract.
As they grow in their relationship, Stephen learns he has ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease and has only two years to live. He completely withdraws from everyone, especially Jane. But she assures him of her love and her desire to spend as much time as they have together. They marry and begin life together waiting to see what his illness will bring.
In spite of his sickness, Stephen’s thought process is not affected. Only his body betrays him.
When Stephen met Jane he told her that he believed there is a unified theory of cosmology that would explain everything, and he wants to find it. After their wedding, he begins work on a theory that time has a beginning point. By replicating the way a black hole in space works itself outward and reversing its course, one can find the beginning of time.
God remains very important for Jane, who is active in church. Stephen declares that belief in God could affect his calculations and cannot be part of his thought process. This strain in the relationship is among many they face. The fact that Stephen lives years after his death sentence is a huge hammer above their heads, waiting any moment to fall.
Jane’s commitment to Stephen is complete. She is cares for him and their children. But the stress mounts. She is offered help but refuses to accept it. This lack of self-care and awareness pushes the couple apart.
Yet, in the midst of this is a real love, which Stephen shows in a statement he places at the end of his most famous work, A Brief History of Time. He says he believes that when humans learn how the cosmos and time came into being, they will be able to understand the mind of God. Jane asks Stephen if he now believes. He does not assent to belief but shows his love for Jane by telling her that it is a gift he gave to her.
This relationship, though based on love, is full of pitfalls and hardships that will eventually doom it. The movie makes it clear that love is important, but sometimes love alone is not enough to deal with the strain of a life marked by an unending disease. What dooms the relationship not so much how they care for each other, but how they care for themselves.
Stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones give stellar portrayals of a couple loving in the midst of distress. Redmayne is especially excellent in his portrayal of Stephen Hawking. He is surely deserves an Academy Award nomination for best actor.
The movie’s merit falls on the shoulders of these two actors. They are either both or separately on screen for the entire film. They anchor this story in such a way that we see a marriage, warts and all.
I highly recommend this movie for how unflinchingly it portrays not just the story of a couple facing illness, but the idea of being unequally yoked, as Paul put it.
The Theory of Everything
Rate PG-13 for some thematic elements and suggestive material
Directed by James Marsh
Written by Anthony McCarten, based on a book by Jane Hawking
With: Eddie Remayne (Stephen Hawking), Felicity Jones (Jane Hawking), David Thewlis (Dennis Sciama), Emily Watson (Beryl White), Simon McBurney (Frank Hawking)