Hawking (2004)

Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Hawking is galvanised to take meaning of his life when he is diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease as a student at Cambridge University. He is 21 and in love with a girl called Jane.The love story is the least interesting part of this film. It is the coming together of the disparate strands of this film which generates excitement in this drama. Hawking studying for his doctorate rejects Sir Fred Hoyle's solid state theory that the universe has always existed and always will. Inspired by the work of Roger Penrose and the thought of Einstein he develops the big bang theory.Intercut with Hawking's life is a television interview set in 1978 with Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, just before they go to collect their Nobel prize for Physics. We later find out that their earlier discovery provides an important link to Hawking's theory.

I have just seen this excellent film.It begins with a character resembling Stephen Hawking slouching in a deep armchair. But, then he gets up and walks!!! This is the basis of the film. We are all familiar with Stephen Hawkign as he is today, but this film will now tell us the story of the man and his ideas before he became the the icon he is today.I really enjoyed this film - both as portrait of a brave man and a brief description of the development of the big bang theory and some of it's underlying concepts.Among the cast I especially enjoyed Michael Brandon as one of the two Bell Labs scientists who first discovered the sound of the creation of the universe. However, I do agree with several other comments here that the section about his German origin was confusing and unnecessary.The film is very much aware of the fact that it will be compared with "A beautiful mind" - it even refers to the "beautiful" concept among scientists. In many ways I much prefer this portrait of a much more sympathetic beautiful mind.

This is an incredible dramatisation that really puts life into perspective. Starting the story of the years of the cosmologist's life with his 21st birthday and progressing through his illness for some time after. We are shown the outstanding intellect of Hawking and how it affected his personal life in a compelling and emotive drama that the BBC should be proud of. As well as being auto-biographical the film explores scientific theories and religious arguments, which help include a viewer by the development of their own ideas.Excellent performances all round especially from Benedict Cumerbatch (Hawking) and Lisa Dillon (Wilde). An interesting watch if nothing else!

This has just shown on BBC2 here in the U.K this very night, and i'am still thinking about it five hour's later. the performances of the cast especially Benedict Cumberbatch as the young Stephen Hawking were superb. The sreenplay while somewhat fictionalized was to the point and highly emotive. The scienific plight of Hawking was simply and well told and the scenes of his horribly degenerating disease( M.N) are highly moving. My uncle died of this disease a year after being diagnosed, that Hawking has continued living with this disease for forty years is not only a testament to his will but also the passion he holds in his life and groundbreaking work. Superb! This should win awards around the world seriously and far, far better than the over praised A Beautiful Mind.Hawking truly was a beautiful mind.