The Theory Of Everything should have been Oscar bait of the highest order, a box-ticking mix of biopic and tissue-wrangling drama, and yet while it inadvertently does all that (Eddie Redmayne won the Oscar for Best Actor, after all) it transcends such materialistic goals. As much as James Marsh's first non-documentary is a Stephen Hawking biopic, charting his rise to become the world's most widely-respected physicist, juxtaposed with the onset of increasingly debilitating motor neurone disease, The Theory Of Everything is at its core about his relationship with first wife Jane. The initial elation of a first kiss, the emotion-driven decision to fight the disease, the eventual wearing down as years become decades; it all plays out like you'd expect, but there's something more burrowing underneath the incredible subtle performances of Redmayne and Felicity Jones (who never gets a proper "show" moment, but is just as brilliant as her award winning acting partner in her purposed restraint). This is a film that takes a look at love in its brilliance and messiness, coming out as a timeless romance drama as much as it is a biopic. Using a true-life story to do such theoretical swipes is always a risky move, especially when the parties involved are still alive, but this balances it all perfectly.
