A sensitive, middle-brow and conventional film, with key moments in Hawking's life structured neatly, and with every emotional button being pushed just at the right pressure.
The Theory of Everything is the type of inspirational story that is so often told in biopics. It is beautifully shot, emotionally driven, and a masterclass in acting.
It's all slavishly conformed into a woefully predictable formula, as inflexible as the Meet Cute Rom-Com or the Superhero Epic, every scene less about capturing a moment from a life than about completing a checklist.
The 123-minute movie is a smooth, attractive, absorbing and often moving examination of conjugal matters, but it's also conventional and respectful and misses out on capturing the essence of what made Stephen and Jane endure their respective conditions.
In an era seriously lacking in serious movie stars, it's great to see young actors like Jones and Redmayne get to go for broke in a movie that mostly deserves them.
There's a mischievous quality to Redmayne that seems a good match with the wit Hawking has always managed to convey with a raised eyebrow and a mechanically-voiced quip.
