Directed by James March, the 2014 British biographical drama The Theory of Everything left a lasting impression on critics as well as audiences when it hit theatres over a decade ago.
Currently streaming on Netflix, viewers only have a few days to catch the rousing biopic as it’s due to depart from the streamer on August 16.
Adapted by Anthony McCarten from the 2007 memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Hawking, ex-wife of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, the biographical drama first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2014.
The memoir — and successively the movie — centers around Jane’s relationship with her ex-husband as well as his devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS. The Theory of Everything also delves deeply into Stephen Hawking’s success in the field of physics.
The film stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones in the lead, supported by Emily Watson, Charlie Cox, Christian McKay, Harry Lloyd, Simon McBurney, and David Thewlis. Made on a production budget of $15 million, The Theory of Everything proved to be a smashing box-office success grossing $123 million at the global box-office.
To add to the movie’s commercial success was its critical acclaim. Eddie Redmayne’s standout performance in the film earned him his first and only (for now) Oscar for Best Actor, as well as the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards in the same category.
The movie itself was nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards and also won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. Additionally, the James March directorial took home accolades for its adapted screenplay (McCarten) and for Jóhann Jóhannsson’s touching original score.
With an 81 per cent critics approval score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, The Theory of Everything was on the receiving end of widespread acclaim, with one critic writing: “Marsh has somehow made a tearjerker (albeit a highbrow one) about the life and times of a Cambridge physicist – and that itself is an achievement.”
Praise for Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar worthy performance also ran abound, with one reviewer saying: “Redmayne’s options for conveying this emotional core might seem limited, but like Hawking, he doesn’t allow the laws of nature to constrain him. With a smile, a frown, or a tear, he says everything without uttering a word. It’s a wondrous thing to behold.”
While another wrote: “Whether it is perfecting the delivery of a slurred and often unintelligible voice, or struggling to simply lift a spoonful of peas to his mouth, Eddie Redmayne is awe-inspiring, bringing forth one of the most surreal performances of the decade.”
Yet another critic lauded the film and said: “This is not a brief history of time; it is a brief history of love. And it is as complex and deceptively deep as any of the physics.”
Audience reviews follow in the same vein, with one fan commenting: “And Oscar winning performance for the ages to go along with an Oscar deserving performance by Felicity Jones, Theory Of Everything touches on the incomparable life of one of the last influential humans of our time.”
Another viewer stated: “This was excellent. The story was moving, tragic, and exceptional when talking about the life of Stephen Hawking. The performance by Eddie Redmayne was phenomenal and really captured the idea of the famous physicist.”
While yet another fan of the film — and Stephen Hawking — said: “Totally inspiring & mind-blowing experience. I couldn’t control my tears. Sir Stephen Hawking is the most inspirational person I’ve ever seen.”
The Theory of Everything is leaving Netflix on August 16.