We all know who Stephen Hawking is. Who doesn’t, right? But the general public probably don’t know much about his personal life and that’s when this movie comes in.

The Theory of Everything, adapted from the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking, tells the life story behind the famed theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking and his ex-wife – their courtship, marriage and the eventual breakdown of it.

It is quite straight-forward from the above paragraph that as much as it is a biography of sorts, it is also a romantic drama. Who knew that Stephen could be such a catch, right? Personally, I grew up knowing he’s a genius but that’s as much as I know about him. So, this movie made him more human to me and not some god-like creature that I always imagined him to be.

There were many moments when I actually cried such as the scene when Stephen found out that he has motor neuron disease and the lingering tension in the marriage between Stephen and Jane as Stephen’s condition slowly deteriorated. Like any relationships, Stephen and Jane had experienced their ups and downs. Even though their marriage broke down, they still are friends till the present. As Stephen Hawking himself said: “However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.”

One other thing I love about the movie is the casting. Eddie Redmayne played Stephen Hawking with such perfection that I swear I thought he was Stephen Hawking himself. How he managed to do that, I don’t know. If he doesn’t at least get an Oscar nomination for this role, I will be super disappointed. Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde Hawking was also brilliant. She portrayed well the struggle Jane was going through. The rest of the cast played off beautifully with the two main leads – David Thewlis as Dennis Sciama, Simon McBurney as Stephen’s father, Charlie Cox as Jane’s second husband, Maxine Peake as Stephen’s second wife, just to name a few.

Some might expect more from this movie, maybe how Stephen Hawking became Stephen Hawking. However, do keep in mind that the movie is not adapted from a book about him. The book was written by his ex-wife about her life with him. There’s a difference between the two.

All in all, I really do love this movie and I have nothing negative to point out about it. So, it’s a full 5 out of 5 for me.

The trailer…