The Theory of Everything (2014 film)
| Company type | Film |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Working Title Films |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Biographical drama film |
The Theory of Everything is a British biographical drama released in 2014, produced by Working Title Films and directed by James Marsh. The narrative unfolds at the University of Cambridge and spans thirty years in the life of renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. The screenplay, adapted by Anthony McCarten from Jane Hawking’s 2007 memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, delves into her relationship with Stephen Hawking, his diagnosis of motor neurone disease (ALS), and his groundbreaking scientific work. The film stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, with supporting roles played by Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, among others. It debuted at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2014 and was released in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2015.
Critics widely praised the film, highlighting Jóhann Jóhannsson’s musical score, Benoît Delhomme’s cinematography, and the performances of Redmayne and Jones. Financially, it was a success, earning US$123 million globally against a $15 million budget. The production received numerous accolades and nominations, including five Academy Award nominations—Best Picture, Best Actress (Jones), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score (Jóhannsson)—and won Best Actor for Redmayne. At the 68th British Academy Film Awards, it garnered ten nominations and won Outstanding British Film, Best Leading Actor (Redmayne), and Best Adapted Screenplay (McCarten). Additionally, it received four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Redmayne) and Best Original Score (Jóhannsson), alongside three nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where Redmayne secured a win for his lead role.
Plot
In 1962, Stephen Hawking, a postgraduate student specializing in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, begins a romantic relationship with literature student Jane Wilde. Despite his intelligence, Stephen initially struggles to select a thesis topic until a lecture by Roger Penrose on black holes inspires him to investigate their significance in the universe’s origin.
Stephen is soon diagnosed with early-onset progressive degenerative motor neurone disease (MND), which progressively impairs his mobility, swallowing, and breathing. Although doctors give him only two years to live, they assure him that his cognitive abilities will remain unaffected despite difficulties in communication. Stephen becomes withdrawn and experiences depression; however, Jane dedicates herself to supporting him. They marry and welcome their first son, Robert. As Stephen’s condition worsens, he begins using a wheelchair.
Building on Penrose’s research into spacetime singularities, Stephen submits his doctoral thesis proposing that a black hole triggered the universe through a Big Bang event and predicts its eventual collapse in a Big Crunch.
After their daughter Lucy is born, Jane faces challenges balancing child-rearing responsibilities with Stephen’s declining health and rising public profile, which affects her academic ambitions. During the 1970s, Jane develops a friendship with Jonathan, a widowed piano teacher for Robert who offers support to the family amid Stephen’s illness. When Jane has another son named Timothy, rumors surrounding Jonathan emerge, causing tension until emotions are addressed while maintaining clear boundaries.
As Cambridge's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Stephen formulates the theory that black holes emit what is now known as radiation, earning international acclaim.
In the 1980s, while vacationing in Bordeaux, Stephen contracts pneumonia requiring a tracheotomy that renders him mute. He learns to communicate using a spelling board and later adopts a computer equipped with voice synthesis technology to write A Brief History of Time, which achieves global bestseller status.
Later that decade, Stephen plans to travel to the United States accompanied by nurse Elaine Mason after accepting an award. Recognizing strains in their marriage, he and Jane divorce; Jane rekindles her relationship with Jonathan while Stephen forms one with Elaine.
Stephen delivers a public address reflecting on his physical limitations but encourages audiences to pursue their goals regardless of adversity: "While there's life, there is hope."
In 1989, upon receiving the Order of the Companions of Honour, Stephen invites Jane to join him for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, sharing a joyful occasion with their children.
The film concludes by retracing key scenes back to when Stephen first met Jane—mirroring his scientific method of reversing time to comprehend the universe's beginnings.
An epilogue reveals that A Brief History of Time sold over ten million copies worldwide. By the late 1990s, Stephen declined a knighthood and had no plans for retirement. Jane earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Spanish Poetry and married Jonathan. Both remain friends and share three grandchildren.
Development
Screenwriter Anthony McCarten initiated the script development after engaging with Jane Hawking’s memoirs Music to Move the Stars (1999) and Travelling to Infinity (2007), meeting Jane several times to perfect the adaptation. Producer Lisa Bruce came on board in 2009 and dedicated three years to obtaining Jane Hawking’s consent for the project. On 18 April 2013, James Marsh was officially appointed as director, with filming scheduled in Cambridge and various locations throughout the UK. Eddie Redmayne was cast as Stephen Hawking, and Felicity Jones was announced on 23 June 2013 to portray Jane Wilde Hawking. By October 2013, Emily Watson and David Thewlis had joined the ensemble, with producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, and McCarten involved.
Marsh prioritized authenticity by examining archival images and footage. Redmayne met with Hawking and conducted six months of preparation, including dialect training under Julia Wilson-Dickson to accurately replicate Hawking’s speech patterns. Marsh noted the demanding physical and emotional aspects of depicting Hawking’s illness progression while preserving his humor and character. Hawking endorsed Redmayne’s interpretation and contributed his actual electronic voice for the film’s later sequences.
The film elicited a heartfelt reaction from Hawking himself during its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Jane Hawking commended Felicity Jones for embodying her mannerisms after their meetings during role preparation.
Filming
Prior to principal photography, Working Title captured the Cambridge May Ball scene—set in 1963—on the lawn before the New Court building from 23 to 27 September 2013. On 24 September, additional scenes were filmed at St John's College, The Backs, Queen's Road, and Queen's Green. The New Court lawn and Kitchen Bridge were key locations during shooting.
Principal photography commenced on 8 October 2013 across various University of Cambridge sites, Cambridgeshire, and other UK venues. The May Ball sequence was the last outdoor shoot, followed by scenes inside a lecture hall and concluding with five weeks of studio filming.
Titanium Fireworks—the team behind the London 2012 Olympic Games displays—produced three identical firework effects for the May Ball sequence at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Music
Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson crafted the soundtrack for The Theory of Everything, integrating acoustic instrumentation with electronic textures. Jóhannsson described his method as layering live performances—whether orchestral, band-based, or solo—with ambient and electronic soundscapes. The score earned widespread praise, receiving nominations for an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score, and a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, while securing the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Recording sessions took place at Abbey Road Studios.
The closing scene features "The Arrival of the Birds" by The Cinematic Orchestra, originally composed for the 2008 documentary The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos.
Post-production
Initially, filmmakers sought to replicate Hawking's synthesized voice but ultimately incorporated his authentic voice with his consent, which is featured in the completed film.
Historical accuracy
The movie takes considerable dramatic license with actual events. Critics, including Michelle Dean from The Guardian, have pointed out that the screenplay rearranges elements from Jane Hawking's memoir, Music to Move the Stars: A Life with Stephen (later republished as Travelling to Infinity), resulting in character portrayals that diverge substantially from truth and potentially misrepresent both Stephen and Jane Hawking.
According to Slate, Eddie Redmayne’s depiction offers a softer version of Stephen than the memoir suggests, and the character Brian is an amalgamation of multiple real-life friends rather than a single person. The film modifies key facts about Stephen and Jane’s relationship, such as their initial meeting and Jane’s early awareness of Stephen’s illness. It also minimizes Hawking's stubbornness and his hesitance to accept assistance.
Dean further criticized the portrayal of their separation as peaceful and respectful, contrasting sharply with Jane Hawking’s description of a drawn-out, acrimonious split that ended with a public announcement of Stephen’s remarriage. Additionally, the timing of their reconciliation is inaccurately depicted.
Physicist Adrian Melott, who studied under Hawking's doctoral advisor Prof. Dennis Sciama, expressed disapproval of Sciama's representation in the film.
Other inaccuracies include Stephen attending the Bordeaux opera accompanied by Raymond LaFlamme, his PhD student, rather than the individuals shown in the movie. The film attributes Stephen’s voice to an answering machine recording, though it was actually synthesized by Dr Dennis H. Klatt.
Release
On 8 October 2013, Universal Pictures International secured rights for international distribution. Subsequently, on 10 April 2014, Focus Features acquired U.S. distribution rights with plans for a limited theatrical release in 2014. Canadian distribution rights were obtained by Entertainment One Films. The initial trailer was released on 7 August 2014.
The Theory of Everything had its premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 7 September, featured in the Special Presentations category. It opened in a limited fashion across five U.S. theaters on 7 November 2014, later expanding to markets including Taiwan, Austria, and Germany. The UK saw a general release on 1 January 2015, followed by wider distribution across Europe.
Box office
Globally, The Theory of Everything generated US$122.9 million in revenue, with North America contributing US$35.9 million and the United Kingdom US$31.9 million. Its limited North American debut on 7 November 2014 across five venues yielded $207,000 during opening weekend (averaging $41,400 per theater). On 26 November, it expanded to 802 cinemas nationwide, grossing US$5 million and ranking seventh at the box office. Over the five-day U.S. Thanksgiving period, earnings reached $6.4 million.
Critical response
The film holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 273 reviews, averaging 7.3/10. The critical consensus states: "Part biographical drama and part romantic narrative, The Theory of Everything benefits from James Marsh's refined direction and compelling performances from its leads." On Metacritic, it received a score of 71 out of 100 from 47 critics, reflecting "generally favorable reviews."
Catherine Shoard of The Guardian lauded Redmayne's "astonishing and deeply visceral performance," likening it to Daniel Day-Lewis’s work in My Left Foot. Justin Chang of Variety praised both Redmayne and Jones for their "exceptional performances" and commended Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score for its resemblance to Philip Glass’s style, alongside John Paul Kelly’s production design and Steven Noble’s costume work. Leslie Felperin from The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged the film’s polished production values, Delhomme’s rich cinematography, and Jóhannsson’s meticulous music composition. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph highlighted the accessible presentation of Hawking’s cosmological concepts while appreciating Redmayne’s acting, McCarten’s screenplay, and Delhomme’s visual work. Pete Hammond from Deadline Hollywood praised McCarten's script and Marsh's direction, noting positive reactions from both critics and Academy voters.
Conversely, some reviewers criticized the emphasis on Hawking’s personal life over his scientific accomplishments. Alonso Duralde of The Wrap described the film as conventional despite Hawking’s groundbreaking contributions. Eric Kohn at Indiewire felt it inadequately explored Hawking’s intellectual ideas. Dennis Overbye of the New York Times faulted its superficial handling of Hawking's scientific legacy and its appeal to religious audiences. Michelle Dean from The Guardian argued that the film distorted Jane Wilde Hawking's story by rearranging facts for dramatic purposes.
The production team—including producers, writer James Marsh, director Marsh himself, and lead actors—received widespread acclaim as strong contenders during awards season.
Awards and Honors
The Theory of Everything received numerous accolades and nominations. During the 87th Academy Awards, it was nominated in five categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Eddie Redmayne (who ultimately won), Best Actress for Felicity Jones, Best Adapted Screenplay for Anthony McCarten, and Best Original Score by Jóhann Jóhannsson. The film also achieved ten nominations at the British Academy Film Awards, where it won Best Adapted Screenplay, Best British Film, and Best Actor. Additionally, it earned recognition with five nominations at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and three at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. At the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, Redmayne secured the award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, while Jóhannsson took home the prize for Best Original Score. Production designer John Paul Kelly received a nomination from the Art Directors Guild for Excellence in Production Design, and the producers were acknowledged by the Producers Guild of America with a nomination for Best Theatrical Motion Picture.
See also
External links
- The Theory of Everything — official site at FocusFeatures.com
- The Theory of Everything at the British Film Institute