THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HOPE
A biopic about the personal life of Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne), The Theory of Everything traces his life from 1963, when he was a brilliant Cambridge University physics student until he has an audience with the queen and turns down knighthood. He impresses his professor, Dennis Sciama (David Thewlis), and charms his future wive Jane (Felicity Jones) before suddenly developing Lou Gehrig’s disease, whereupon he is given only two years to live. But with Jane’s help and his own determination, he is still alive today. The film focuses on how he copes with gradual debilitation, helped by Jane until the level of care requires a caregiver with advanced expertise, Elaine Mason (Emily Watson). He has three children with Jane, but extraordinary care provided by Elaine results in a divorce and marriage with Elaine. The pathos of relationships, not always an English “stiff upper lip,” is more than counterbalanced by humorous dialog. Directed by James Marsh, the screenplay is based on the upbeat autobiography by his first wife, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, which explains some troubling elements of their lives together, such as her Episcopalianism and his atheism. The Theory of Everything is light on physics, but those unfamiliar with Hawking’s work will learn that ever since he was a college student he has been trying to find a way to unite two types of physics that follow very different laws—conventional physics, which applies to visible objects, and particle physics, which deals with what goes on inside electrons. At age 72, Hawking is still seeking a mathematical way to unify the two. MH
INTERSTELLAR TRIES TO SOLVE HAWKING’S PROBLEM WITH ACTION
The premise for interplanetary travel is that the earth is dying: The population is far below 1 billion, dust storms signal the inability to grow food, and the last crop is corn, which is endangered. Needing a new pilot, NASA evidently jiggles the earth polarity to summon Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) to pilot a mission to a planet revolving around Jupiter in order to report back on habitability (Plan A) or, if return is impossible, to begin inhabiting the planet on behalf of the endangered human race (Plan B). Engineering and physics are celebrated, but the main challenges are how to deal with a black hole as well as the emotions of those on board and those remaining on earth. Filmviewers who recall the ambiguous ending of 2001 will find the ending similar in its suggestion that the future may require adjustment beyond the terrestrial three dimensions. MH
THE BETTER ANGELS IS ABOUT A MORE HUMBLE USA
In a very slow moving, black-and-white film, The Better Angels is a study of how 8-year-old Abraham Lincoln (played by Braydon Denney) is brought up in a log cabin in 1817 within the Indiana backwoods. The two angels are his first mother, who died, and his very affectionate second mother (Diane Kruger and Brit Marling, respectively). His father (Jason Clarke), however, is a disciplinarian who requires young Abe to clear the brush, steer the ox to open up the soil for seeds, and chop with an ax. Abe plays with the local boys, learning how to fight and wrestle, but every night enjoys reading. He is able to memorize Henry Clay’s speeches, filmviewers are told, and he also witnesses slaves in chains without comment. Abe is a quiet, humble boy in a country where there is no alternative to hard work and everyone subscribes to simple virtues. Directed by A. J. Edwards, The Better Angels portrays a slice of his living conditions rather than character transformation, often with music of Samuel Barber and mumbled dialog, including voiceovers, seemingly by a longtime friend. Filmviewers are to conclude that his life at the age of 8 provided the foundation for the Abraham Lincoln in the history books. MH