By Natalie Sturgeon

Marriage is hard work. Marriage requires constant effort every day to maintain it. Imagine how much effort this relationship becomes when Motor Neuron Disease (M.N.D) ravages your spouse’s nervous system. Stephen and Jane Hawking embarked on the rocky path of a marriage with the added burden of dealing with MND. In the upcoming movie, The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones play Stephen and Jane Hawking. This heart-wrenchingly real love story is about their unconventional marriage and how it develops as they find out more about Stephen’s neurodegenerative disease.

Taking on the part of Stephen Hawking was a huge task for actor Eddie Redmayne. At The Theory of Everything College Press Conference at the Waldorf  Towers, Saturday, Oct. 18, Redmayne commented, “My script called for an actor who could show the audience a man evolving over 25 years, going from being fully functional to having the use of only a few muscles – mainly one hand and some limited facial movement – and having his voice be superseded by a machine’s.” As Redmayne plays Stephen in the time of his life when he no longer has a voice, it seems incredible that Stephen and Jane could communicate at all with each other. Redmayne commented, “The power of word becomes so huge.”

Felicity Jones had a lot of studying to do her for her part as Jane Hawking, as well. Jones read Jane Hawking’s autobiography, Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, to prepare for the role and Jane Hawking herself also coached her on several occasions. Jones commented on the role saying, “What felt like a challenge was not being Eddie and Felicity — was becoming Jane and Stephen.” Jones and Redmayne both agree that these roles were some of the most challenging for them to play. The sparks of romance at the beginning of the movie are eclipsed by Stephens’s diagnosis, and by Jane’s efforts to hold onto what they once had. James Marsh, director of the film, shared with the conference his insight into the story of the Hawking family. Marsh explains, “scenes of eating — of sharing meals — would tell you what is really going on with the characters.” The meal scenes progress from playful, blooming love to despair when Stephen can no longer feed himself. This complex, uplifting, inspiring and heartbreaking story of Stephen and Jane Hawking is one for the ages. It teaches us that when life hands us extenuating circumstances, it is okay to be dependent on the one you love most.

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Natalie Sturgeon is a Staff Writer for The Fordham Ram.