THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING - Movie Review

Title: The Theory of Everything
Running Time: 123 min
Director: James Marsh
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, David Thewlis, Harry Lloyd, Maxine Peake

Review:
Stephen Hawking is a man that pretty much everyone has heard of at least once. But how about Eddie Redmayne? Probably not. Not yet at least. The young actor seems to have a big career ahead of him however, getting big praise for his performance in this Hawking biography including a "Best Actor" nomination for this year's upcoming Academy Awards. He is even considered the front-runner in this category. But is he really that good?
He most definitely is. Eddie Redmayne single-handedly elevates "The Theory of Everything" from a good biopic to an exceptional one. You never see the actor as he completely disappears into his role. So much so, that even the real Stephen Hawking gave him the ultimate accolade by saying: "At times I thought he was me!"
The movie starts in Hawking's late years at the Cambridge University, where he meets Jane, his wife-to-be. Accordingly, the film's beginning feels more like a love story, and in general, the whole film focusses on Hawking's personal life and his battle with ALS, rather than his theories. Yes, his genius is basically given, and the man is portrayed as being great not only for his brilliance, but for his willpower, personality and optimism. As a result, Stephen Hawking becomes even more fascinating, but other characters like his wife Jane Hawking get their time to impress us as well. She is portrayed by a terrific Felicity Jones, who herself is nominated for an Oscar. The two actors give the film its great emotional impact, and manage to make the couples struggle feel very real to the audience. Redmayne's awe-inspiring ability to completely transform himself in regards of posture, voice and facial expressions is simply perfect, and you tend to forget that the actor does not actually suffer from the Lou-Gehring-disease. The only bummer is that the make-up department doesn't quite manage to let the rest of the cast age as realisticly, which startles you a bit, but as you are so invested in the story, you actually don't really mind.
All in all, "The Theory of Everything" is a fantastic biographical drama that is worth seeing solely for Redmayne's performance. A great film that makes one of the most interesting men in the world even more interesting.

For Fans Of:
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Walk The Line (2005)

Click Here To Watch Trailer!

And check out my friend's review over at B.A.'s Screentest for a second opinion!