“There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. However
bad life may seem, while there is life, there is hope…..”
- Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything
That’s about it. ‘Hope’. Even the most devout cynic is
nothing but a crestfallen dreamer. I remember coming across a line while
reading Coelho, “In our pursuit of happiness, we all are same. None of us is
happy”. I had a reflex mechanism where I instantly agreed with that line but
since then it just made me wonder more that what is it then- what is it that
drives us to do anything? Why do we want to live on when every practical circumstance
is against my living? From where do we acquire the courage we didn’t even know
was there in us before we find us in the face of the most difficult of crisis?
What should I call it – The Science of human anatomy or just ‘some form of miracle’ that is beyond all earthly definition’? ’The Theory of Everything’ takes the bravest attempt to touch upon all these questions which bug us every single day- while on some days they are just silly delusional queries and on some they seem to be the most intelligent things we should be asking ourselves.
It would be demeaning to consider this film as just a biopic
or a romantic drama cause it transcends both its generic description and
thematic foundation in every single way. I am not a Science person. No matter
how much the name “Stephen Hawking” has intrigued me over the years, the last
thing I could have hoped for was to end up watching a science drama where all
the crème de la crème of the movie jet travels
right over my head and I would be left like, “Man, that was all so technical..
I’m sure it must be a great movie and all though”…. But you know its like I
began with- “HOPE”.. I was hoping to see a great movie and it truly was too
great to elucidate on in my limited vocabulary.
Based on the personal and professional life legendary
Physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking, “The Theory of Everything” is a cinematic
adaptation of Hawking’s ex-wife Jane Hawking’s memoir “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”. The film is a stunning
collage of the darkest and most glorifying memories in both of their lives. It
is a string of revelations, realizations and a true experience of living
someone’s else’s life for that 2 hour screen time.
This James Marsh
directorial is emblematic of how a true biographical film should be. There is
no exaggerated and flamboyant glorification of the protagonist and there is no redundant
dramatization of the simple developments. It’s just a heart-warming,
soul-stirring and beautiful movie- the kind of beautiful that “A Beautiful
Mind, “The King’s Speech” or “The Intouchables” was. It does not horde your
mind with the most antique debate of this Universe, “Science or God?” ….” Who
created us?” “What is our purpose on Earth?” “Is TIME synonymous to eternity or
it had a definite beginning- a moment of creation like everyone of us?” etcetera etcetera. Rather, it is the poignant
portrayal of human relations and a man’s unrealistic ability to turn his gravest
weakness into his greatest ally that forms the thematic core of this 2014 epic.
Not for a single moment does it appear to invade our hopefulness. On, the
contrary it kinda refills it….
The film is an instantaneous narrative of how as humans, we
can always be greater that what we have ever dared to imagine ourselves to be. The
plot handling is thoroughly subtle yet evidently impactful. While seeing the
minute details of Hawking’s battle with his physical infirmity and his
unyielding genius, you feel like may be we are too overqualified to live life
the right way. We have everything- anything that it takes to be human- the
ability to breathe, talk, eat, work and love and yet we conclude its not
enough. We can’t even imagine what life must be like for those who cannot do
all of that. And this is where we are taken wrong. There's this man who is
slowly ebbing on all his voluntary actions and yet he is living and evolving
and excelling more than what most of us would do in a couple of lifetimes. This
is the story of Stephen- not so much of the scientist Dr. Hawking as it is of
the lover, the father, the person Hawking. It’s the story of a man who started
living his life when by all medical definitions he should start deciding on his
funeral. It’s the story of a man who got obsessed with “Time” when he was
convinced that he had none left with him. It’s a story of a man who started to
share his unworldly genius with this world when he was told he would soon be
incapable of making his thoughts known to anyone but his own self. “The Theory
of Everything” is a invigorating tale of this man - ‘ a medial miracle’, a term
that Science does not swear by often.
The narrative is brilliantly paced, timelined and executed.
The cinematography too is cent percent compatible with the magnitude of the
story flow. However none of this makes a sense if I fail to comment on the
acting. Eddie Redmayne in the titular role is clearly one of the best castings
of all time. His body language, his profile, his make up- all made him look
more Stephen Hawking than Stephen Hawking himself and that is huge!!!! The
greatest trick of any biopic is to get the look right and TTOPE scored a
straight ‘A’ on this. I remember Heath Ledger locked himself down alone to
prepare for the legendary role of the “Joker”. I am not sure how Eddie prepped
before being Hawking, but ask me now, I don’t see any other actor who have been
essayed the vulnerability and genius of this maestro with such admirable
conviction. Felicity Jones as Jane Hawking was also impressive. It’s actually the
cumulative effort of all the people involved that went ahead to make such a
thought-provoking and special film and for that we owe them one. :)
Just give this gem of a film a sincere watch as there are
few feelings as gratifying as watching an outstanding film. You’ll be something
more after you complete watching it. More hopeful… more sorted.. more human….It’s
the kind of film you wouldn’t want to talk about to anyone (as it would feel
too special to share with people who you dread might not feel the same way as
you did) and at the same time suppress the urge of screaming it to the world
and recommended it to the every next person you meet….
^ That’s the only possibly ending I could think of right
now. :”)
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