Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones star in the new Focus Feature, The Theory of Everything. The two play Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde in the story of how their relationship together would shape the course of their lives.

After discovering that he has an extremely rare motor neuron disease and finding out that he only has a maximum of two years to live, instead of simply wallowing in the dark reality of this disease, Hawking and Wilde decide to marry and get the most out the remainder of their days together.

The story picks up right at the notorious, prestigious school of science and arts at Cambridge University in England. At a party at one of the residency halls, you see the fantastic chemistry of Wilde and Hawking as they introduce themselves for the first time with a simple declaration of their majors. Not long after do the signs of Hawking’s infamous disease start to reveal itself; and this is one of the jewels of the film – Redmayne’s ability to portray the same physical defects that this disease causes. He not only convincingly contorts his body to mimic the picture of Hawking, which most people are familiar with by now, but he also is able to pull off the same degradation of speech, which will cause every person with a basic sense of empathy to tear up.

What is simply captivating about this movie is the way the film is able to display Hawking’s immense stature in the field of science while also drilling through your emotional core; it’s both intellectually and emotionally exhilarating. Hawking is the exemplary role model for tackling adversity, as you see him overcoming so many obstacles throughout the film. Redmayne is certainly deserving of at least an Oscar nomination for his stunning performance.

The Theory of Everything will make you appreciate adversity and how it transcends people to even greater levels of achievement—both world-wide and personal. This movie is well worth seeing twice, and will soon find a nice resting spot within my movie collection!