Stephen Hawking, dubbed as “the most famous scientist in the world” by the Independent, has often been glorified for his theories about black holes and space-time, but director James Marsh attempts to show a more personalised side to the astrophysicist. The Theory of Everything, which opens this weekend in select US theatres, depicts Hawking’s relationship with his first wife Jane Hawking and his battle with motor neuron disease or ALS, reported livescience.com.
The film features Eddie Redmayne as Hawking, who insisted that the ‘biggest privilege’ for him was working with co-star Felicity Jones, Reuters reported. Felicity plays Jane, the scientist’s sweetheart from university days, who agreed to marry him even though he was given two years to live. The film, according to Marsh, is not a biopic but a portrait of a relationship, chronicling Jane’s life just as much as it chronicles Stephen’s.
“She’s a charismatic, brilliant match and that is what makes their relationship so great,” said Redmayne about Jane, adding, “Felicity just brought all the subtlety and dignity and clarity to that.” Commenting on drawing inspiration for the role, Felicity said, “It all started with Jane. I met her early on in the process and liked her instantly.” She added, “Jane had such warmth, such an interesting character. She is someone who just had layers and layers of strength and determination. So, there was a lot for me as an actor to play.”
Not much is known about Jane other than what Stephen wrote in his autobiography My Brief History, which centralises the ‘anguish’ of his two marriages, according to theweek.co.uk. In order to effectively translate her character in the film, Felicity deemed it critical to emulate her physical appearance and voice. “I wanted to be true to who Jane was and her essence. And for the story to make sense, being close to the truth is always the best thing to do,” said Felicity.
“There was an eccentricity about her that I really liked. She does have this very high-pitched voice and I worked with a dialect coach and she called it an ‘above the breast voice’ because everything is high in the head and it comes out here,” she commented. “She had quite a 1950s intonation. So, it was just trying to capture who Jane was as truthfully as possible.”
On how difficult it was filming the break-up scene between Jane and Stephen, she shared, “That was a very heavy day. We had gotten so used to these people, we had inhabited them for so long that to know that not only were we finishing filming, but also that we were showing the moment when this incredibly complicated union was disintegrating… It was emotional for us both as actors and the characters.”
Felicity’s performance has earned positive reviews and spurred talk of a Best Actor Oscar nomination. She holds that only time will tell if the role is a career milestone for her. “It feels like a very important film in that it was a special film and we care so intensely about these people. It didn’t feel like we were just going to work and phoning it in. It took over our lives for that time. In terms of just an emotional experience as an actor, it definitely feels like a milestone,” she stated.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2014.
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