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 25 wins & 122 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 | cosmology | physicist | 

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Taglines:

The incredible story of Jane and Stephen Hawking

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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 met with Stephen Hawking only once before filming. "In the three hours I spent with him, he said maybe eight sentences," recalls Redmayne. "I just didn't feel like I could ask him intimate things." Therefore, he found other ways to prepare for the role. He lost about fifteen pounds and trained for four months with a dancer to learn how to control his body. He met with forty ALS patients, kept a chart tracking the order in which Hawking's muscles declined, and stood in front of a mirror for hours on end, contorting his face. Lastly, he remained motionless and hunched over between takes, so much so that an osteopath told him he had altered the alignment of his spine. "I fear I'm a bit of a control freak," Redmayne admits. "I was obsessive. I'm not sure it was healthy."

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Goofs

(at around 49 mins) After Stephen gets the knitted sweater stuck over his head, he tells Jane he's had an idea. Jane then pulls the the sweater over his shoulders, but in the next shot it is once again hanging from his neck.

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Quotes

Stephen Hawking: [introducing themselves for the first time] Hello.
Jane Hawking: Hello.
Stephen Hawking: Science.
Jane Hawking: Arts.

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Connections

Featured in Film '72: Episode dated 5 November 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Take Me Away
Written by Steve Dudas (as Dudas), Mark Hart (as Hart)
Courtesy of The Extreme Music Library

User Reviews

Great romantic movie about a brilliant man, ironically very little science

But it does tell an inspiring story about Stephen Hawking's personal struggle with his illness that's very uplifting.

The story of Stephen Hawking and his then wife Jane, apparently based on a book she wrote about it, which probability explains why there was not much science in the movie, not that I'm complaining, as it was a well played film about a difficult relationship.

I didn't known Stephen and his wife actually met around the same time as he began to suffer from Lou Gehrig's Disease. Makes the whole concept that Hawking has three kids with this woman more interesting (something was working). Felicity Jones did a great job playing such a strong, patient, and compassionate woman, all well narrated in this movie. The difficulty Jane Hawking had being with a man getting trapped in his own body, played by Eddie Redmayne.I have herd of Hawking's surprisingly positive personality, not because of his condition, but because I expected his condition would make it hard to express any emotion. Redmayne did his research to express the struggle of Hawking on camera nicely (I keep forgetting The Hawking is a Brit).

This movie turned out to be a great one about the time span of a relationship. Done more romantically than borderline soft-core flicks like Blue is the warmest color and 9 songs, and it was not as depressing as Blue Valentine. it was just a true take on a complex relationship taking it's toll, well performed by some brilliant actors.

If your looking to watch this movie to hear some science talk, that's not what the movie is really about, unless ironically convincing the world of his theories on time was really as easy as the movie makes it out for Hawking. Overall very enjoyable.