I have never heard of this film until Eddie Redmayne was given the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role recently. My husband recognized him as the actor who portrayed Stephen Hawking, apparently a world-renowned British physicist, also being called as the “modern Einstein”. I like biographies/bio-documentaries and physics used to be my most favorite science subject in high school, so it’s enough reason for me to be interested in this movie. Plus it reminded me of “A Beautiful Mind”, a story about a mathematical genius but with a not-so-perfect personality. Somehow it’s a humble reminder to us that really you can’t have it all.
It’s based on the memoir “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen” by Jane Wilde Hawking, Stephen’s first wife. They met while in the university, an astrophysics/cosmologist nerdy student smitten with the pretty literature girl. But at the age of 21, Stephen was diagnosed with a motor-neuron disease (remember the ALS ice bucket challenge?) and was given 2 years to live. He then became recluse and won’t see Jane. She however, has already fallen in love with him and won’t take the disease as a hindrance to their relationship. They eventually got married and even had 3 kids. My husband and I were at awe how he managed to have kids, when he can’t even lift his jacket onto his head. I am more surprised when he and Jane divorced and he got himself a new wife in the person of his nanny-nurse Elaine. Surely, that thing down there is not controlled by the same nerves that control our motor skills.
His health has deteriorated so much through the years, now he is permanently stuck in his wheelchair and can’t even talk without a voice synthesizer. But no, he’s not the type of person who will just give up on life. He wrote his international best-seller book “A Brief History of Time” using the computer with a built-in voice synthesizer.
With all of these, it’s easy to say that this movie is about Stephen- his genius, rise to fame and his struggles with his disease. But more importantly, I think this is the story about love. Cliché as it is but love really conquers all. When you love someone, you tend to look beyond the imperfections. You will try to make it really work, you will defy all odds. For this, I salute Jane. It’s hard to see someone you love lose his ability to walk and talk, and still have that affection that goes beyond the physical traits. It takes a very strong person to do that. Stephen is strong to rise above his disability, but I think Jane is the stronger person character-wise.
How about you, how far would you go for the person that you love?
Happiness Count: ♥♥♥
No comments:
Post a Comment