The Theory of Everything

[andrew.falconer]

So Avisute and myself went and saw the premier of this last night. I won tickets through Lindt chocolate's FB page but I think due to a FB error only got 2 hours’ notice and I'm guessing the other 2 competition winners weren't aware as we had two empty seats to either side of us. We got to walk the red carpet (blue for some reason last night) and walked past all the "stars" from the film including Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. We also saw Prof Stephen Hawkins on the carpet!
After escaping the cold we took our seats which turned out to be on the front row in the very centre. We got provided with a bottle of water, a bag of popcorn and a bar of chocolate. Tried to do some celeb spotting but only saw a handful of comedians (Dara O'Brien and Hal Cruttenden). However just before the film was about to start Sarah Ferguson (Duchess of York) walked in front of us!

Onto the film...Fantastic. A really interesting portrayal of his life with Jane. Watching Eddie Redmayne transform over the course of the film into the version of Stephen Hawkings we know today was one of the most powerful and amazing pieces of work I've ever seen an actor commit himself to. If he doesn't get at least an Oscar nomination for this I will be shocked! My father passed away from a rare form of motor neuron disease (he had MSA, Multiple System Atrophy) so I could really relate to the struggle of Jane caring for him and what he would have been going through. One thing that really helps this film is the humour though that it instils in places.

Overall a great film, totally recommend seeing it, one of the best films I've seen this year and I really hope Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones get nominated for their performances and they both totally deserve it.

9/10

[NAKHTAR]

Thank you so much for your views, i look forward to seeing it now.

[prettyxcool]

Thanks for sharing andrew.falconer, and well done for winning tickets. I was so disappointed my brother did not get tickets in the BAFTA ballot for this, but got tickets to Unbroken instead. I look forward to seeing the screening next week

[kevinknapman]

Saw a preview of this at the BFI Southbank on Monday followed by an interesting Q&A with director James Marsh, writer Anthony McCarten and producer Lisa Bruce.

An impressive and certainly awards-worthy film that is elevated above its admittedly standard biopic format by an extraordinary performance from Eddie Redmayne.

Though there are perhaps few surprises in the way that Anthony McCarten has chosen to tell Stephen Hawking's story (adapted from a book by Jane Hawking), its a beautifully directed and shot film. Benoît Delhomme's cinematography in particular makes wonderful use of natural light (apparently deliberately done to mirror Hawking's interest in the stars).

No matter how good it looks, it would have been half the film if the central casting hadn't been perfect. Thankfully Eddie Redmayne is excellent. Nothing that he has done before this quite prepares you for how good he actually is here. Inhabiting all stages of Hawking's physical deterioration. All the more impressive as he would often have to act scenes set years apart and therefore at different stages of disability on the same day, due to the fact that they couldn't shoot the film chronologically for practical reasons. Felicity Jones is also very good as Jane Hawking, a role that is every bit as important as Redmayne's. The only downside is that she doesn't seem to age as much as she should, so is not very convincing as someone who is supposed to be 30 years older by the end than she was at the start of the film. The understandable decision to not include onscreen dates to mark the passage of time (choosing instead to let Hawking's physical condition do that) probably doesn't help. It's a minor issue though and she deserves as much praise as Redmayne is likely to get.

Overall this is an impressive and moving film despite it's rather straightforward telling and I certainly learned a few things about Hawking's life that I wasn't aware of before.

[Beate]

Saw this at Vue Islington yesterday, where the world's slowest usher let people in.

The film was good enough but not a patch on The Imitation Game. Eddie Redmayne acted his socks off though. Pity we didn't get more of an explanation of Hawking's genius or how his career progressed. I felt great sympathy for the wife acting as a carer though she did actually have nurses coming in round the clock for him. Also not sure why the religion versus science theme was so prominent - it really hasn't got all that much to do with his theories.

7/10

[Bully]

Watched a pre-screening of it tonight @Working Title Films in London. My thoughts echo the superb views already. Emotively acted out & worthy of Golden Globes & Oscars. It's certainly nudged me into some forthcoming reading and even the book from what it's based on :-)

[Betty Botter]

Really enjoyed this film. If anything I thought is was slightly better than The Imitation Game (and that was excellent). Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones both gave brilliant performances 9/10 from me.

[prettyxcool]

Have not been to Vue Shepherds Bush for a while, but a bit of confusion as one usher, probably new, did not know about these screenings, asked everyone to get their printed tickets scanned at the ticket counter, so my friend went to find out to be told not necessary. The same usher was then surprised with how long the queue was and that we were all going to the same screening!

Did not expect to see any FMUKers there, but it was lovely to see valda, missgotty and jeanelle.

A beautiful but still quite heavy film and unfortunately felt slightly too long for me, that I just could not stay awake for that last part. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones definitely were terrific in their roles, portraying a difficult and complex relationship, and I did shed a tear. A very sad and heartbreaking love story rather than one of science, which the title makes you assume. 7/10

[yogi]

Really enjoyed this film. If anything I thought is was slightly better than The Imitation Game (and that was excellent). Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones both gave brilliant performances 9/10 from me.

Imitation Game edges it for me, but it's pretty close. This was a lot better than I expected largely due to the stellar performances at the centre.

A really powerful, emotional, sad, yet inspiring film and also great to see Stephen Hawking personality shine through, he had a devilish sense of humour and glint in his eye throughout - those appearance with The Simpsons and Monty Python make a lot more sense now.

And in case you don't know (I'm sure most people on here do) Kip Thorne, who Hawking has the bet with, is the same guy whose theories Interstellar was based on.

Anyway, great performances and film 9/10

[funthing29]

This film is definitely elevated by the excellent lead performances especially from Redmayne. It was not quite the affecting or inspirational experience that it aims for (in my view) but it is still a well crafted piece of film-making. Not as impressive as The Imitation Game and therefore I think it deserves 8/10.