The discovery of infinity

Movie
German title	The discovery of infinity
Original title	The Theory of Everything
Country of production	United Kingdom
original language	English , French
Publishing year	2014
length	123 minutes
Age rating	FSK 0 ; JMK 6
Rod
Director	James Marsh
script	Anthony McCarten
production	Tim Bevan ; Lisa Bruce ; Eric Fellner ; Richard Hewitt; Anthony McCarten
music	Jóhann Jóhannsson
camera	Benoît Delhomme
cut	Jinx Godfrey
occupation
	Eddie Redmayne : Stephen Hawking ; Felicity Jones : Jane Hawking ; Charlie Cox : Jonathan Hellyer Jones; David Thewlis : Dennis Sciama ; Harry Lloyd : Brian; Simon McBurney : Frank Hawking; Abigail Cruttenden : Isobel Hawking; Emily Watson : Beryl Wilde; Maxine Peake : Elaine Mason;

The Discovery of Infinity (Original title: The Theory of Everything ) is a British movie directed by James Marsh from 2014 . It stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones . The drama is based on the life of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and shows his extraordinary career and love affair with his wife Jane Hawking . Her memoirs Love has eleven dimensions: My life with Stephen Hawking forms the basis for the film.

action

Stephen Hawking studies physics at Cambridge University . His talent is striking, with which he is able to solve difficult tasks without spending a lot of time. He falls in love with Jane at a party who is studying languages. He introduces himself to her as a “cosmologist” who is looking for a comprehensive formula for explaining the infinity of the universe. They get closer at a May ball. Although Hawking does not believe in God and Jane is a devout Christian, they become a couple. After noticing physical limitations several times, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease after a fall and was predicted to have a life expectancy of two years. Although he then becomes depressed and shows negative behavior towards friends and Jane, Jane sticks to him. They get married and have children. Supported by his professor, he develops theories on black holes and singularities , with which he is doing his doctorate. Physically he is deteriorating more and more; soon he can only speak indistinctly and needs a wheelchair.

On the advice of her mother, Jane joins a church choir. Mutual affection is evident from the very first conversation with the choirmaster Jonathan. Jonathan, who has been a widower for a year, visits Hawking's family and offers to help. He becomes part of the family, even on vacation trips. Although his father urges him to do so, Hawking refuses to hire a professional caregiver for himself. After Jane gives birth to her third child, her mother-in-law suspects that Jonathan is the father, which she abruptly rejects.

While Stephen accepts an invitation to a Wagner concert in Bordeaux, Jane goes camping with Jonathan and the children at his suggestion, where an intimacy with Jonathan is suggested. Hawking collapses at the concert and is taken to a clinic. A pneumonia is determined, and he falls into a coma . The doctor offers Jane to forego life-prolonging measures. Stephen has this transferred to Cambridge, where a trachea incision is made that will make it impossible for him to speak in the future. Jonathan has now withdrawn from the family due to the personal development between himself and Jane. Elaine Mason is hired for Stephen, who trains him to communicate using a message board and later with a voice computer . He gets along very well with her immediately, she is enthusiastic about his intelligence and his humor. Stephen is now using the computer to write his book A Brief History of Time . Here he deviates from the fact that there is no god, which Jane is pleased to register as she reads the manuscript. At the same time he informs her that Elaine will accompany him to a lecture in the USA. Hawking, who has meanwhile achieved world fame, is enthusiastically celebrated there. After Stephen and Jane split up, she visits Jonathan again, with whom she then lives together. Jane nevertheless accompanies Stephen to a tribute to the Queen. Afterwards they proudly look at their three children in the park.

criticism

The film received mostly positive reviews. At Rotten Tomatoes , 81% of the reviews are positive, out of a total of 154 reviews. The average rating is 7.4 / 10. In conclusion, it says: "Half a film biography, half a love story wins The Discovery of Infinity mainly through James Marsh's brilliant direction and the quality of his two main actors." The industry journal Variety described the film as a "moving and bittersweet love story with tasteful, good humor". The film service ruled the film was "touching without exploiting sentimental Hawking's deteriorating health." The “otherwise more classic narrative attitude” is broken by the attempt “to compensate for the patient's limited ability to articulate with an exciting staging of his or her moving inner life”.

Anke Sterneborg from epd Film judged that Marsh “found a very amazing young actor in Eddie Redmayne”. However, he concentrates “so much on the frailty of the body that he cannot find any images for the seductive power of a brilliant mind”. The biggest shortcoming is "that he could not really convey the Amour fou", "that there are no sparks between Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne", "that make plausible", "what makes an energetic, charming, sparkling young woman", "To get involved with such an inhibited, handicapped man". Jane Hawking herself criticized the limited portrayal of their coexistence - in particular that the couple's extensive travels, including the major logistical problems, and their own social contacts were completely ignored in the film.