Two years ago when “Lincoln” came out there was no doubt that Daniel Day Lewis was going to take home the Oscar for Best Actor. The last year the same thing happened for Matthew McConaughey. After seeing “Dallas Buyers Club” we all knew he was taking home the Academy Award. “The Theory of Everything” finally comes to South Florida today, November 21 and it has happened a third year in a row, Eddie Redmayne is taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Dr. Stephen Hawking.
If you thought Stephen Hawking was always in that wheelchair speaking with that computerized voice, then “The Theory of Everything” will be quite an eye opener for you. The movie opens in Cambridge, England, circa 1963 with Stephen Hawking having a bike race with a friend. The movie’s focus centers around Stephen’s relationship with Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones), how they first met and how they managed when Stephen was first diagnosed with the disease that would one day rob him of almost all movement and the power to speak, while at the same time coming up with some of the most advanced theories around time and the writing of his book, “A Brief History of Time.”
Eddie Redmaye is hardly a household name (yet). Before “The Theory of Everything” his best known movies have been “My Week with Marilyn” and “Les Mis.” Even before he starts showing signs of his illness (motor neuron disease), he already does a great job playing the famous physicist. Once the disease starts taking effect, we slowly watch Redmaye break down little by little. He never goes over the top trying to “sell” us. This is the kind of performance Academy voters eat up and Eddie Redmaye serves up an excellent meal for them and us.
