THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Finally—a true story that’s actually true!!!

I literally just came home from seeing this film, and was compelled to sit right down and review it this very second.

There’s so much to say about The Theory of Everything, but this will be a quick one because I’m just so anxious to get it out there. Everyone should see this excellent movie, because of three things: 1) it’s truly based on the book written by Stephen Hawking’s first wife, Jane, and this film has been approved by her, and 2 & 3) the performances of both Felicity Jones as Jane, and mostly Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking himself. (On a personal note, since both Stephen and Eddie are fellow caps, how could I help but love them?! Stephen turned an amazing seventy-two yesterday, Eddie’s b-day was on the 6th, and mine is on the 14th. Now, if only I shared their genius, I’d be all set!)

To play a person with ALS, (most commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, in case you never knew what exactly it is that’s afflicting Stephen Hawking all these years,) especially from its onset until much later years, (not to mention an icon who’s, knock on wood, still with us fifty years in!,) would be a daunting task to most actors. But Eddie Redmayne was close to amazing! If you’ve only ever seen him in Les Miz, you’ve never really seen him.

You really don’t need me to tell you more than this, like most reviewers who feel they must tell you the whole story of the movie, and then analyze every little nuance. Please just trust me when I tell you it’s a fascinating story.

I had researched Stephen Hawking’s life extensively several months ago, before I even knew of the film. An old pal had just been diagnosed with the dreaded neurodegenerative disease, and I was trying to do as much research as I could, just in case I could find a positive to share with her. (His life story is a positive, by the way. He was given the usual couple of years to live, and has wound-up with an extra half century of life, and counting!) So, to see it brought to life, and so faithfully to what I believe is the true story, makes it more real for me.

This is not a documentary, but seems closer to actual events than other movies “based on” real events. But most importantly, it helped me make sense of the stories I was reading. I just could not imagine a girl marrying a guy who she knew had ALS, and very possibly would be gone within a couple of years. Everything about The Theory of Everything made me understand all the real life scenarios. The screenplay, the directing, and the two main performances made it all quite clear for me.

Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne. Very fuzzy photo by Karen Salkin.

I was lucky enough to attend a SAG screening where Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones spoke after. I have to tell you, this was one of the very few Q-and-As where the actors were really talking, with no BS involved. They were just honest, natural, and informative without being actor-y, if you know what I mean. There was no pretense involved. And I loved that most everything they said was about how they worked together from the beginning of the project. They were, as they say in their native England, brilliant! I loved them both. And felt every single word they said. They were so good that the audience was actually one hundred percent well-behaved this time! All the questioners had real questions for the stars, and wanted to hear the answers, rather than giving the stupid testimonials that we usually have to sit through. (Digression–After a long one that some idiot gave during a recent Q-and-A with Al Pacino, Al just said a casual, “Okay.” That was great.)

So, big props to everyone concerned. And now–go see this film!!!

[Note: Sorry if this write-up is a little “fuzzier” than my usual ones. I had to bang this out in under a half hour, so there was no time for re-writes.]