This Stephen Hawking biopic has a lot in common with the recent The Imitation Game: classy, opulently shot, impeccably acted....and yet a little too genteel for its own good in its treatment of the people and the subject matter. Life events flash by, but the film does a remarkably good job of charting Hawking's physical decline through an exemplary performance by Eddie Redmayne, matched by an immensely sympathetic turn by Felicity Jones as his first wife and her resulting emotional challenges. There are some lovely visual metaphors in play - a single shot of a wheelchair-bound Hawking Canute-like on the seashore is a gem - and the film exudes massive heart, but the overwhelming result seems to be a film about a sad circumstance that affected two nice intelligent people that glossily side-steps what must have been the harsher realities.
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