The Theory of Everything (2014)

A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife.

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Anthony McCarten (screenplay), Jane Hawking (book)

Stars:

Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior

Won 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 121 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Redmayne	...	Stephen Hawking
Felicity Jones	...	Jane Hawking
Tom Prior	...	Robert Hawking - Age 17
Sophie Perry	...	Lucy Hawking - Age 14
Finlay Wright-Stephens	...	Timothy Hawking - Age 8
Harry Lloyd	...	Brian
Alice Orr-Ewing	...	Diana King
David Thewlis	...	Dennis Sciama
Thomas Morrison	...	Carter
Michael Marcus	...	Ellis
Gruffudd Glyn	...	Rees
Paul Longley	...	Barman - Rowing Club
Emily Watson	...	Beryl Wilde
Guy Oliver-Watts	...	George Wilde
Simon McBurney	...	Frank Hawking

Storyline

The Theory of Everything is the story of the most brilliant and celebrated physicist of our time, Stephen Hawking, and Jane Wilde the arts student he fell in love with whilst studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. Little was expected from Stephen Hawking, a bright but shiftless student of cosmology, given just two years to live following the diagnosis of a fatal illness at 21 years of age. He became galvanized, however, by the love of fellow Cambridge student, Jane Wilde, and he went on to be called the successor to Einstein, as well as a husband and father to their three children. Over the course of their marriage as Stephen's body collapsed and his academic renown soared, fault lines were exposed that tested the lineaments of their relationship and dramatically altered the course of both of their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

cambridge university | husband wife relationship | lou gehrig's disease | physicist | based on memoir | 

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Taglines:

Consider Everything.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and suggestive material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

UK Japan USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 November 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Theory of Everything

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$208,763, 7 November 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$35,893,537

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$123,726,688

Company Credits

Production Co:

Working Title Films,Dentsu Motion Pictures,Fuji Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eddie Redmayne was born on January 6, while Stephen Hawking was born on January 8.

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Goofs

When Stephen is at a summit after the release of his book, he sees a young lady drop her pen. In his imagination he leaves his wheelchair to pick it up for her. In the wide shots he is picking it up with his right hand, but in the close-up he is picking it up with his left hand.

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Quotes

Stephen Hawking: It is clear that we are just an advanced breed of primates on a minor planet orbiting around a very average star, in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. BUT, ever since the dawn of civilization people have craved for an understanding of the underlying order of the world. There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe. And what can be more special than that there is no boundary? And there should be no boundary to human endeavor. We ...

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Connections

Referenced in Film '72: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Transformation
Written by Dominic Smith (as Smith), Jason Swinscoe (as Swinscoe)
Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra
Courtesy of Walt Disney Records

User Reviews

Redmayne and Jones are excellent in this heartbreaking love story.

The Theory of Everything tells the uphill struggle that world renowned genius Stephen Hawking went through when dealing with his, now, infamous disease and trying to maintain his relationship with his loving wife, Jane. The strengths of this film rely solely on Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. These two actors are absolutely, one hundred percent, PHENOMENAL in these two roles. Stephen Hawking is the role that Redmayne was born to play. Hawking is portrayed as a charming and intellectually superior individual that behaves just like any one else. After a bit, we start to wonder what was every so amazing about him...then the heartbreak starts. Jane Hawking is a sweet, loving and determined person that will go to the lengths of the universe to make sure her husband, Stephen can survive. I get chills just thinking about certain scenes, some of which will most definitely be requiring a large box of Kleenex. The truth is, anything that I say here about these performances, no matter what it is, is still criminally underselling the sheer brilliance of them. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are simply incredible and I'd be even willing to go to the extreme to say that both actors will not only be nominated, but I'd be surprised if they didn't win the Oscar gold. Now, with that being said, this film's structural issues are severely hampering this film's chances at being a classic. I wasn't completely sold on the structural integrity of the film. It showed enough of the relationship aspect behind Stephen and Jane but it very briefly touched base on Hawking's intellectual discoveries and I thought that if it was a bit more balanced in that respect, it would be a near perfect film. One plot point that I did find utterly enthralling is the idea that Hawking struggles throughout the film to do simple things. These scenes are, by far, the most heart wrenching scenes to watch. James Marsh directs his actors effortlessly and can evoke the type of emotional response out of his audience through them, but when left with telling a story, Marsh falters. Marsh, known for 2012 IRA drama, Shadow Dancer proves that he is an actor's director. He cares about human drama over anything in a tangible sense, which benefits this film greatly but also harms it in the way of progression. Despite these minor infractions, The Theory of Everything is a film that everyone can enjoy and turns into a real audience movie. It is a film that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, no easy feat for any film, and this one does it effortlessly.