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This movie was huge when it first came out, yet I somehow hadn’t managed to watch it up until this week. My first overall thought is how brilliant it is. It shares a lot about the Hawking family but is respectful in doing so, making it definitely worth all the awards it won.
Eddie Redmayne portrays Stephen Hawking perfectly and brings so much emotion to the film. There was never any doubt watching it that he was Stephen Hawking. It’s clear from watching interviews with Redmayne that he put a lot of work into researching motor neuron disease for the role and he wanted to bring the most accurate representation of it to the screen.
The film begins with Hawking at Cambridge, and meeting his future-wife Jane (portrayed by Felicity Jones). He begins to develop symptoms with his balance and is eventually given the diagnosis that he has motor neuron disease and is only expected to live for two years.
At times it was quite emotional to watch as you witness his decline and the strain it has on the whole family. Especially his wife as she begins to feel she can’t cope looking after him by herself.
I found it a very interesting film throughout as you see both the troubles in Hawking’s personal life but also his successes in the world of science. It showed in more detail the way in which Stephen Hawking learnt to use his machine synthesizer to talk and the process of how he wrote his first book: A Brief History of Time.
Overall I would say The Theory of Everything is definitely a brilliant film to watch in terms of learning more about Hawking’s life and gaining an understanding of motor neuron disease.
I think one of the main messages of the film is determination; it shows the obstacles people have to face and overcome daily in order to succeed in life.