The Movie:
This is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed.
I’ve always been aware of Stephen Hawking and his contribution to science but I was never really aware of his story. This film takes you all the way back to his days at the University Of Cambridge and shows just how brilliant he was, even as a young man. They also show the beginnings of being diagnosed and the sad news that he was given that he would only live two years or so. It was so inspiring to see that, with the help of Jane, that he wouldn’t accept what his doctor told him and he would just continue his work as long as he could. Little did everyone know that he would continue living his life and continue his work in furthering astrophysics. Redmayne did an absolutely fantastic job at becoming Hawking and even the moments when Hawking couldn’t speak he said so much with his eyes. Acting like that doesn’t come around very often. I don’t consider Jones to be a supporting actress (even though technically people will qualify her as that) because she was just as important to the film as Redmayne was. Her performance as Jane was the glue that held everything together. Jane was the person that took care of everything in the Hawking household and basically pushed to keep him alive in a moment that was truly pivotal in the rest of his life. The film was heart-wrenching yet full of heart at the same time which keeps you on this rollercoaster of emotions which makes for a phenomenal film. If you are at all curious at how Stephen Hawking became today then this is a film to pick up for sure. 10/10
Special Features:
Deleted Scenes – A really good number of scenes here that for the most part could’ve been edited back in besides maybe one or two.
Becoming the Hawkings – A really good but kind of short feature about the way Redmayne and Jones embodied the Hawkings’.
Feature Commentary With Director James Marsh