DEAR EDDIE REDMAYNE…

Dear Eddie Redmayne,

I know you have recently got married, but I just wanted to say that if you find at any time that you have regretted your decision and decide that you should have hooked up with an ageing single mother of three then please do let me know.

I have recently been to see your excellent performance in “The Theory Of Everything” where you slowly morph into Stephen Hawking – seemingly effortlessly, although I am sure it was incredibly difficult to play that role. You were incredible. How did you make your lips do that? Almost turn inside out? How did you walk in that way that made us believe you had no muscle tone in your legs and feet and finally whole body?

A group of us went to see it on Sunday and we all loved it and felt massively rung out by the end – it was an incredibly raw and affecting film – beautifully shot and admirably presented. The love story between you and your wife, played by Felicity Jones was beautifully developed, although I did wonder towards the end why there weren’t more arguments – and she hardly aged over thirty years which was the one thing I found difficult to comprehend. That and no mention of the marriage of Stephen to his nurse and subsequent divorce.

But oh well, these are really minor criticisms – the essence of the film was brilliant. To the lay-person, it was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to understand the man that Professor Hawking’s has become over time and the life he has had. It almost made me want to go and buy his books (although now that I’ve had time to reassess post film I realise there is no point, because I really won’t understand a word).

But to understand that he was given only two years to live by a doctor who left him sitting alone in a hallway having given him his prognosis? To have raged, like he did, against the dying of the light with barely a squeak and a smile on his face? Astonishing. It makes you feel proud to be human. His quote about hope – what was it again? Was very moving (so moving I’ve forgotten it) – something about human endeavour … will look it up and write it down.

Everybody in the film comes across well – even the gorgeous love interest piano teacher (a better looking version of Colin Firth) which is no mean feat when divorce and children are involved, let alone with the inclusion of disability and repression and the scene where you both agree to finally accept that the marriage is over, when you cried together and your nose ran was incredibly emotional and though wordless, spoke volumes.

So, I thank you for being so brilliant and even though I was going to vote for Michael Keaton because I thought “Birdman” was also brilliant, I have now decided that I will be nominating you for an Oscar. If you have a spare ticket, do let me know and I will make myself available.

Kind regards,
Lx