‘The Theory of Everything’ Kind of Drags Stephen Hawking’s Legacy, Doesn’t It?

Biopics are supposed to make you like a famous figure more, but The Theory of Everything — which just landed on Netflix — made me kind of hate the great, late Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne).

Before the science nerds jump down my throat, I want it to be clear that I still have the utmost respect for Hawking’s genius. He lived a phenomenal life full of great intellectual achievements. Furthermore, I understand that The Theory of Everything is a dramatized version of Hawking’s life. Not all the facts are presented, nor are all the true feelings of those involved. Still, I walked away from the film thinking, “Man, Stephen Hawking was kind of a dick.”

Rather than polish the story of Hawking’s marriage to first wife Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) into a pristine romance, The Theory of Everything depicts it as the fraught, passionate, frustrating struggle it likely really was. I say “likely” because their relationship rings true in that it’s not perfect. Both partners express anger and love and hope and sorrow.

The Theory of Everything is a truly beautifully made film about how love grows and dies, and yet endures between two people. It gives us the magic of Stephen and Jane’s early romance, as well as an honest look at how, well, they weren’t exactly well-matched from the beginning. (Observe the scene where Stephen takes Jane home for supper and his whole family sneers at her interest in medieval poetry, the art of Turner, and faith in God. Beyond just exhibiting the family’s implicit rudeness, it sets up how the dreamy Jane is not going to find her fairy tale ending tending to the whims of a towering genius like Hawking.)

My issue with Hawking’s personality starts at the beginning. He’s self-centered and fond of lording over everyone else. On the one hand, he is a singular genius. On the other, he’s also a person and people kind of need to treat each other with kindness and respect. The Hawking we meet in The Theory of Everything can’t ever seem to learn this. The way he treats Jane towards the end of the film is rather abominable. In the same scene that he finally lets her read a portion of A Brief History of Time where he acknowledges the possible existence of God — which is a big deal for the devout Jane, who has obviously leaned on her Christian faith through their struggles — he blithely breaks up with her by saying he’s asked his plucky, flirty caregiver Elaine to travel to America with him. Keep in mind, Elaine and Stephen’s flirtation was carrying on while Jane was in the other room. It’s all kind of…how do you say? SHITTY.

In the end, Jane and Stephen’s divorce was obviously for the best, and The Theory of Everything is a deep meditation on the power of love. Still, I can’t think of Hawking’s legacy now without remembering a cinematic scene wherein he dumps his wife for his nurse in a super douche-y way. If nothing else The Theory of Everything is the rare biopic that lets its focus be more than a hero: Stephen Hawking gets to be a three-dimensional human being.

Watch The Theory of Everything on Netflix