Movie Review: The Theory of Everything

Last year I started to keep a list of movies I wanted to see. Whether it was from Academy Award season, or trailers I saw online, or just movies I didn't want to forget about. On the top of that list for the last six to nine months was The Theory of Everything. With all the stress that comes with purchasing a home we missed seeing The Theory of Everything in theaters. A couple weekends back we rented it on iTunes (for $6) and endured the 2+ hour movie. 

I say endured because I along with Jenn found The Theory of Everything to be an excruciatingly slow burn. I mean slow. Going in I ashamedly knew almost nothing about Stephen Hawking. I conceptually love science. I love what it could do for our future. But its never been an area of focus in my life. Going into The Theory of Everything I was absolutely ready to learn. Sadly I found the movie to be a complete bore. 

I will not deny that the acting was exceptional and that Eddie Redmayne deserved all of the recognition he received. It moved very slow, and at times it was near impossible to understand what Eddie (who was playing Stephen Hawking) was even talking about. I never felt like I learned anything. Stephen Hawking's triumph as both a person and as a brilliant mind are both unparalleled. There's no denying that his life and theories will be with us for years to come. Sadly the movie did nothing to capture that.

A movie like this should make the viewer (in my opinion) want to dig deeper into the subject. It should make you want to learn more and seek out more. However The Theory of Everything had the exact opposite effect. I found it to be a complete turn off from the entire subject. Its a shame too because there were glimpses of a truly fantastic movie in there.