Looking Beyond The Mind Of A Genius: Discovering The Real Stephen Hawking

The Theory of Everything is a recently released biopic about the renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, and even though it does detail the story of the man’s genius, science isn’t the main focus of the tale. Best known to the non-scientific world for his book, A Brief History of Time, which made him a household name, Hawking was also a young man who once fell in love with a woman while they were both students at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

The movie was inspired by an autobiography written by Hawking’s ex-wife, Jane, called Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen. Although his life as an acclaimed scientist is told, the true tale of the book is about love and loss, which is reflected in the movie. The film begins in 1963 with Hawking, who is played by Eddie Redmayne, as an able bodied young man in his prime as he whizzes around campus on a bicycle.

Soon, however, the story of Hawking’s diagnosis, with its grim prognosis, is told. Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS and given two years to live. The disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, will eventually take his speech and his mobility, but the biopic tells of Hawking’s indomitable spirit. As NPR reported, in spite of the diagnosis, Hawking moves forward with his studies and soon marries his poet girlfriend, Jane Wilde.

Although Hawking was only 21 when he was diagnosed, Jane helps him overcome his depression, and the film tells about their romance, as well as their 30-year-long marriage. While their life together wasn’t always easy as Rolling Stone reported in its review of the film, they strived to make their marriage work despite Hawking’s circumstances, and their marriage produced three children.

Their romance and marriage ultimately end, but the film shows a side of Hawking most people probably didn’t know existed. The film received critical acclaim, and it has done well in this first weekend, earning $206,000 from the five theaters where it was released in Los Angeles, Toronto and New York City. The film and Redmayne are receiving a lot of Oscar buzz from industry experts.

Redmayne was able to speak with Hawking a few times as he was filming the biopic, and Hawking always admonished Redmayne for calling him Mr. Hawking and insisted on being called by his first name, Stephen. The Inquisitr reported that the actor not only study Hawking’s physical characteristics, but Hawking’s sense of humor also surprised him, and he included it in the film.

[Image from teaser-trailer.com]
[Movie trailer via YouTube]