Eddie Redmayne¡¯s win of this year¡¯s best-actor Oscar for his portrayal of wheelchair-bound physicist Stephen Hawking in ¡°The Theory of Everything¡± confirms what we already know: The Academy likes nothing so much as an actor portraying physical or mental disability, from ¡°Rain Man¡± and ¡°My Left Foot¡± right on down. Yet while it¡¯s easy to be cynical about their preference for performances where the effort is all on the surface, we need to judge Redmayne¡¯s work on its own merits ¡ª and they are considerable.
¡°The Theory of Everything¡± is based on a memoir by Hawking¡¯s first wife, Jane, to whom he was married for some two decades. The film is less about Hawking¡¯s brilliance in the field of physics than it is about a couple who find themselves having to deal with a debilitating illness, and the bond that sees them through.
Hawking meets Jane (Felicity Jones) while studying at Cambridge and, after a brief courtship, he is struck by strange symptoms that are diagnosed as motor neuron disease ¡ª a syndrome of increasing bodily dysfunction and paralysis. He¡¯s given two years to live, but Jane decides not only to stick with him but to marry and have children. Hawking¡¯s determination not to be treated as a cripple is what gives him the strength to continue in his work and career, but it also places a heavy burden on Jane, who eventually starts finding solace in the company of a musician (Charlie Cox) who conducts the church choir where she sings.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.