I’m not going to say a lot about The Theory of Everything
and how amazing Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones are in it because we are
going to hear A LOT about that in the coming months. Suffice to say, it’s a gorgeous movie (maybe
even perfect) and they both deliver exceptional performances. I would be very surprised if Mr. Redmayne doesn’t
nab the Oscar for this role. Simply attempting
the physicality of Stephen Hawking was daunting enough, and Theory was shot out
of sequence so Redmayne had to capture any given period in Hawking’s physical
deterioration on any given shooting day. He reportedly kept a chart and the result is nothing short of astounding. If, by some cosmic blunder Redmayne doesn't win this year, he's 32 and looks about 16, which is a huge asset for an actor, so he'll be fine.
This film is not a typical biopic. It’s less about Hawking’s scientific
achievements on their own and more about how the love of a devoted woman fueled
those achievements. I love films about
a triumph of the human spirit over devastating circumstances, but usually in
those stories the person finds an inner strength on their own. In this story, Stephen is given a brilliant
mind and then a body that doesn’t cooperate, so he needs a champion in order to
go on.
I expected Theory to be wonderful because it was distributed
by Focus Features, who has produced and distributed many of the greatest
independent films of all time.
Here’s a short list: Dallas Buyers Club, Brokeback Mountain, Away We Go,
Beginners, Lost in Translation, Talk to Me, Atonement, Milk. In the past 2 years, Focus has changed its
focus and here’s a great article about that. I am all for expanding their reach to films
like Fifty Shades of Grey if that adds money to their the coffers to continue distributing
extraordinary indies like The Theory of Everything.
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