This is a movie about the life of the well known cosmologist Stephen Hawking, or more accurately about how his wife Jane devoted herself entirely to him. After Mr. Hawking's first being diagnosed with ALS, as Stephen's girl friend, Jane lifts him out of a deep depression and gives him a reason to fight the disease and lead as normal a life as is possible. This is not a movie about physics per se, this is relationship driven and adds credence to the old saying "behind every great man, is a great woman." The actor portraying Mr. Hawking is spot on and even assumes the staunch atheistic approach to studying science, while his wife meanwhile, a devout follower of the Church of England finally reaches a compromise with her husband's atheism. While they did divorce and the film delves in the often times obstacle strewn course of a strained marriage and caring for a spouse with a severe and debilitating disease, the story is in the end an uplifting one. Mr. Hawking remains with us today and has beaten the odds by living with ALS beyond his initiial diagnosis of 2 years...in no small part he owes this longevity to his first wife, Jane Hawking. I predict an Oscar for the actor portraying Mr. Hawking, a remarkable job.
