Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
It is refreshingly restorative watching a man withering physically, soaring intellectually. Eddie Redmayne (“Les Miserables”), gives a tour de force performance as Stephen Hawking (“A Brief History of Time”) who quested to discover “one single unified equation that explains everything in the universe”; diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1963 (twenty-one- years old); glum prognosis, two years to live; he marries fellow Cambridge-student Jane Wilde (beautiful, sensitive portrayal by Felicity Jones), (film is based on Jane’s “Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”) whose astonishing intransigence allows Stephen to actualize his “Einstein” potential.
“The Theory of Everything” is riveting; Redmayne captures the man and his monumental vicissitudes, reminiscent of Patty Duke as Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker” or Daniel Day Lewis in “My Left Foot”; progressively Hawking’s debilitating disease claims his body, speech; simultaneously his intelligence, levity and humor transcend his crippling physicality; his passionate infatuation with time; scientific search for a “complete description of the universe we live in”; conundrum of the “black hole” even today monopolizes his empirical investigation.
Above all else “The Theory of Everything” is an enchanting love story; far more than a “brief period in time” a fated couple change the world; defying the odds, a partnership, so unparalleled, it lent perfection to a universe Hawking believed improbable to achieve.
FOUR & 1/2 STARS!!!!
Peneflix
Pundits are saying that Redmayne has the Oscar in the bag, what do you think?
Too soon to predict. My favorite is Tom Hardy for “Locke”; so brilliant and so ignored. I will have my contest again> Thanks, P.
Yeah, ‘Locke’ is brilliant, but I don’t see the Academy going there. I was blown away by Brad Pitt in ‘Furry’ but nobody seems to be talking about that performance either.
Favorites: Michael Keaton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simmons/Tellar. Brad, takes a back seat to these, although I liked “Fury”.
I would love for Keaton to take the top prize, I might weep actually (I love him)
Loved Redmayne as young detective Morse on Masterpiece. In T of E, I completely forgot he was acting!
Terrific comment. Thanks, P.
You mean ‘Endeavour’ ? That’s Shawn Evans.
I liked Redmane in ‘Birdsong’ and ‘My Week with Marilyn’ and even ‘Les Mis.’ though.
Yes, Endeavour. Shaun Evans, not Redmayne. Thank you! So many greats to keep track of on PBS and in movies..
Excellent observations! P.
They are very similar looking men.
Good dialogue. Keep it up! P.
Ok, I’ll give it a shot.. I think the movie is about his achievements but explores their marriage more. She (Felicity Jones) gets across her overwhelming struggle without ever diminishing her husband and she’s dealing not only his advancing illness but also his atheism and her faith.
I think so too Barbara, in fact the film is made from the actual book by Jane Hawking and is really her story. All the gushing about Redmane must be bothering Felicity Jones a bit since in fact the film is about her character!
Scintillating observations! P. You “2” do not need me. P.
Way to go Barbara! It was a love story from commencement to conclusion; although heard she left him for the “preacher”; but the movie proves otherwise. thank you, P.