"The Theory of Everything" Review

I've never really known too much about Stephen Hawking. Some people think of him as that "wheelchair smart guy who occasionally pops up in The Big Bang Theory." The more intellectually based know him as one of the most groundbreaking theoretical physicists who has ever lived, and has shaped the modern scientific community. But I don't presume to paraphrase his Wikipedia page. I decided to let this movie tell me his story the way it has chosen. 

The Theory of Everything tells us the love story between Jane Wilde and Stephen Hawking as he develops ALS and defies all expectations with his theories and discoveries despite his handicap.

There is always that one Oscar probable that just doesn't measure up for me, despite what everyone else says. I like to call it Oscar Cheese. 

Firstly, the film does tell a great story. That much is clear. It's a fully thought through story, and it's interesting to see how the relationship between these two flourishes and goes through it's trials. It's not dissimilar to Breaking Bad in a way. The key difference being that the male protagonist here does not start cooking drugs and killing people after his diagnosis. The comparison is a small bit of a stretch, but it's there when you think about it. 

However, and I don't know exactly how this is actually possible, but the film is both slow AND rushed. It dives into aspects of Hawking's life head on without really getting to the meat. It's passive aggressive in a way. It expects us to understand most of the material upon arrival. It starts off running, and wants us to catch up. And the slowness comes in when we see parts of Hawking's life that maybe we can go past. We know how the ALS will come into play, and we know that he eventually receives his computer speaker. But it meanders too slowly on it's way between plot points. 

Frankly, it also feels like it was made purely for Oscar nominations. It's clear they respect the material, but the execution just doesn't feel honest. It feels very hokey in moments which are clearly meant to be dramatic. 

Eddie Redmayne is clearly trying his hardest here. And yes, he does do an admirable job. But it just doesn't feel as strong as I had thought it would be. He has done a ton of work towards this role, but it somehow doesn't feel very sincere. For pure commitment, I will applaud him. 

Felicity Jones gives us a really devoted performance, letting us into her heart when she is struggling to deal with all her obstacles. We can understand why she does what she does, and even if we don't agree with her character's choices, we can appreciate how strongly Jones has committed to them.

The Theory of Everything has a strong story, decent performances, but it's boring to put it lightly. It will most likely appear in ceremony, but I would be surprised if it took home anything major. 

C+