Wednesday 7 January 2015

Film: 'The Theory of Everything'.

So, after a hiatus of over three weeks, back to the old routine, whilst noting films that I'd wanted to see but didn't (owing to unpropitious circumstances) disappear over the horizon, very likely to end up on my sad 'Never Seen' list.

This particular feature follows the widely-known true story of Stephen Hawking, from nerdy, rather arrogant and annoying student at Cambridge Uni, surviving through the onset of muscular dystrophy and its expected short life-survival, to world recognition in his quadriplegic and electronic-voiced  state, as one of the most prominent astro-physicists, certainly the most famous, in the world today - or, possibly any age, maybe on a par with Einstein himself.

I have absolutely no quibble with the portrayal of the two central characters, played by Eddie Redmayne as astonishingly believable as one can wish, and Felicity Jones as his (first) wife, Jane, giving him selfless support throughout his alarmingly rapid physical deterioration. The couple are at the centre of screen attention for the whole two hours.
It's not the film's fault that Hawking's story is so celebrated that it would have been distracting and troubling to have deviated from it. I have little doubt that it is as faithful a representation as we are ever going to see. But fore-knowledge also confines it. Of course there were details of certain events in his life which I hadn't appreciated, but none of them were so big as to surprise one. A lot of people, me included, knew that his first marriage hadn't lasted and that he married his nurse. So the story really had nowhere else to go.

Director James Marsh gets the very best out of all his cast, minor characters too. As we approach the time of the Oscar short-list announcements it would be a gigantic error not to include Redmayne, and if he were to actually receive the award I shan't be complaining. In the BAFTA awards, which precedes the Oscars by a few days, it looks as though 'Best Actor' is going to be a two-horse race between Redmayne and that Cumberbatch chappie (for 'The Imitation Game'). Between the two I'd have to give it to Eddie R. for this, surely one of the most jaw-dropping and believable performances put on screen  - ever!
I was also particularly struck by how different Felicity Jones looked near the film's start, all youthful and fresh-faced - but by the end her features were so careworn, the understandable result of years of uncomplaining ministrations to her husband. Remarkable.

It's a fine, fact-like (presumably) representation of a significant chunk in the life of an extraordinary man. I believe the film has had the thumbs-up from both Hawking himself and Jane (this film is actually based on her book of her years with Hawking). It would have been deeply disappointing if it hadn't. But by attempting to be so faithful to the facts the film came out to me as being a bit lacking in 'edge' - maybe even a trifle sterile? Still a recommendation, though........................6.5.

16 comments:

  1. Ray,
    Another excellent review! You are so good. Are you sure you don't charge? (smile) I've said it before but I'll say it again, I am always amazed at the unknown talent that is on the Internet . . . . for free!
    Ron

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    1. It's not that I don't believe you, Ron. Your own perspective must necessarily be so different from mine. But I must say, without any false modesty, that my postings generally seem so unsatisfactory when compared to reviews on
      other blogs that I read that I'm regularly embarrassed at how far short of their standards I fall - such that I often can't bear to re-read them, and only do so at all in order to iron out grammatical or punctuation errors. Still, I value what you say and for that reason I'll not carry out my veiled 'threat' to stop doing them - which will probably only be because I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up the frequency of going to the cinema. But thanks for what you say and I'll try for a bit longer to keep you entertained.

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    2. Ray,
      Where are these other bloggers who write such fantastic movie reviews? I haven't found them but then, perhaps I'm not looking hard enough. To me, I find your reviews always interesting, balanced and informative. That's all I ask for a good movie review or any type of review. Maybe I'm low class and don't expect much (probably true) but to me, you're a real treasure and I hope you don't stop doing your reviews.
      Ron

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    3. I'm chuffed to pieces at what you say, Ron. By 'other' film reviews I'm referring to when others include their views on a film within their regular blog postings - and I'm left thinking "How succinct!" envious of their knack of to encapsulating their thoughts in a few words while I tend to ramble all over the place. It's not false modesty. Just wish sometimes I could just get on with it, say it and leave!

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  2. I am going to see this. Cant wait. Something has gone wrong with my blog dont worry will get it back

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    1. Do go, Sol. You won't regret it. At the very least Redmayne's performance is a wonder to experience.
      Is something wrong with your blog? Hadn't noticed. But I'll keep a 'weather eye' on it.

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  3. Redmayne dazzled me in "Red". Redmayne dazzled me in The Theory Of Everything". What an actor! What a performance! I am speaking of both the play and the film. To think that his physical decline was shot out of sequence makes him worthy of all awards.

    Mr. Redmayne has recently earned another award and perhaps the most important. He was voted the most stylish man in Britain, topped "GQ's Best Dressed List".

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    1. Paul, I was a bit thrown at first by your mention of 'Red' - but I did get to it. I see that Redmayne won an Olivier award for his part.
      His portrayal of Hawking deserves to go down as one of film history's greatest, and I don't think it's too early to be saying that - helped though, in large part, by a lot of us having fresh in our minds what the subject was like before he'd quite got down to the physical helplessness which he now inhabits.
      I hadn't known that his deterioration was shot unchronologically, but knowing the way films are made I suppose it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. It does make it all the more extraordinary.

      Yes, I'd heard that he named as 'best dressed man' - and, though I hadn't really thought about it, I reckon it's fair enough.

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  4. Did you hear jane interviewed on radio 4s woman's house?
    She is precise and quiet and probably devoid of overt edge

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    1. I didn't, J.G. but in light of what you say may search it out on 'ketchup'. I do remember her being interviewed in a newspaper article ('Observer', I think) shortly after the break-up of her marriage. In this film she didn't seem to show bitterness when it might have been thought that she'd had cause to feel so - and the film is based on her book, which I'd omitted to say in my first posting of this particular blog, but now inserted.

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  5. I enjoyed this film. I thought he did a good job acting. I very much enjoyed the Britishness of it all.

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    1. I think Redmayne's performance was the single stand-out feature of this film, underpinning a story with which so many of us are familiar. If the main character hadn't been played so well the entire film would have been a shadow of what it is.

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  6. This I plan to see. Sounds as if I will enjoy it. The Imitation game is on my list as well.

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    1. Not wishing to influence you, FB, but between the two of them I thought that 'Imitation' was the better film (some have disagreed), but 'Theory' really demands to be seen because of the completely extraordinary portrayal of the central character. But I would urge you on to see both.

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  7. I liked this movie very much though, like you, not quite as much as The Imitation Game. It will be interesting to see how the award season treats the Leading Men.

    I've become a Redmayne fan. I was first aware of him from Savage Grace (more super-rich behaving badly) but thought he was terrific in My Week With Marilyn and Les Mis.

    I read he got good notices on stage in Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia. I would have enjoyed seeing that. Perhaps they'll mount a revival at some point, though he now probably too old to play the son and too young to play the father

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    1. I'm certainly more of a Redmayne fan than a Cummerbund one, H.K., helped in no small measure in the former being quite a hottie.

      I was about to say that Eddie was really good in both 'Les Mis' and 'Marilyn' but that I'd never heard of 'Savage Grace' - but it turns out that I DID see it, giving it a lowly 5/10 on IMDb, long before I started reviewing film on these blogs. Even reading a synopsis of it now I can't recall it. Very strange.

      I don't think I've seen any reviews of his stage appearances though now it's been mentioned I'd be interested to see him in, for example, a Noel Coward play where he ought to be a shoo-in. Also Ibsen, I reckon.

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