The problem with biopics that attempt to capture an entire life in two hours is, basically, they can't. This is especially the case when the subject is still alive and working as in the case of Stephen Hawking. Biopics can give an overview of facts without really touching the person beneath, or give a snapshot of a life by restricting the timescale as in Selma - which is set over only a few months (see Selma review). The Theory of Everything almost attempts both, and to my mind fails at both. That's not to say it's not an entertaining film; I learnt things I had never thought to know about Hawking, his wife, and his career. However, trying as it did to give us the story of his whole life from the age of twenty-one until now, fifty years later, was too ambitious and the film managed only a superficial overview without sinking its teeth into the nitty gritty of either his relationship with his wife, or his struggle with his illness, or his career. Maybe the problem was that it wanted to do all of these, and therefore managed none of them.
On the other hand, the film was entertaining, quite interesting and heartwarming and inspiring, essentially because of Hawking's tremendous spirit and miraculously doctor-defying life. The frustration of having an incredible brain caged in a self-destructive body was felt, as was the that of living with someone stubbornly going through this and initially refusing outside help. Indeed, Jane, Hawking's wife, came across as the most sympathetic character - where Stephen's intelligence is intangible to most of us, and his (perhaps justified) arrogance an unattractive quality, in Jane there was the humanity that was lacking in Hawking himself. Both actors were excellent, neither characaturing or demonising themselves or each other, but still Hawking came across as amazing, certainly, but not likeable.
My main issue with this film was simply that it did not seem to exude truth. Perhaps in deference to the fact that all the characters are still alive, the film appeared carefully made, not the punch in the guts of awe inspiring survival and love - and the loss of love - that it could have been.
