The Theory of Everything

Watched Subject at The Nickelodeon in Santa Cruz, on Lincoln Street. "The Nick" represents a cozy, locally-owned and operated theater, which resides a block away from Pacific Avenue, downtown. This was our first visit. We bought a medium popcorn and a plastic bag of caramel popcorn for later, sitting in theater #3.

The movie does an exceptional job showing the personal side of family life with an ALS member. It only rarely shows an aside of Hawking's later academic life. The parts where he begins struggling with muscle control feel tense; the frustration is real.

The University of Cambridge comes out looking marvelous. Cows grazing, wood paneling, tiny bunked rooms, croquet, rowing, hedges...such an alien world from corporate life. David Thewlis played Hawking's thesis supervisor, Dennis Sciama. In one scene, he brings Hawking to a University of Cambridge laboratory and invokes the name of J.J. Thompson and Rutherford, then leaves him to absorb it all in.

A surprise cameo: Emily Watson as Jane's mother.

A friend mentioned a late scene where Hawking lets Jane go resonated strongly with her--the tears flow freely and the close shots help bring the audience right into the perspective of each of them. The break-up felt a bit flat, however, in the sense that Hawking let her go only after he had securely met his own needs. The artificial conflict of God seems interesting but tacked-on.

I can understand why people tamp down their marks a bit when rating it. It covers a lot of ground. It goes for depth and compassion in a complicated (to put it mildly) relationship. It aims high and ends up a bit flat, though no fault of the lead actors.

The scene introducing Hawking's Equalizer software (I think?) seemed fresh. Four words per minute.

Hawking comes across as someone with raw talent, who finds inspiration in a lecture by Penrose. Wikipedia says Jane's love gave him something to live for, however.