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Hawking (2004) (TV)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
13 April 2004 (UK) moreTagline:
The story of the search for the beginning of time.Plot Keywords:
Genius
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Illness
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Handicapped
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Physics
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations moreUser Comments:
Weaknesses in dialogue & delivery only slightly damage an engaging human story moreCast
(Credited cast)| Benedict Cumberbatch | ... | Stephen Hawking | |
| Michael Brandon | ... | Arno Penzias | |
| Tom Hodgkins | ... | Bob Wilson | |
| Lisa Dillon | ... | Jane Wilde | |
| Phoebe Nicholls | ... | Isobel Hawking | |
| Adam Godley | ... | Frank Hawking | |
| Peter Firth | ... | Sir Fred Hoyle | |
| Tom Ward | ... | Roger Penrose | |
| John Sessions | ... | Dennis Sciama | |
| Rohan Siva | ... | Jayant Narlikar | |
| Matthew Marsh | ... | Dr. John Holloway | |
| Anastasia Hille | ... | Nurse Susan McClean | |
| Bertie Carvel | ... | George Ellis | |
| Christian Rubeck | ... | Interviewer / Reporter (as Christian Pedersen) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Sebastian Armesto | ... | Robert Silkin | |
| Charlie Beall | ... | Hugh | |
| Che Cartwright | ... | Guildenstern | |
| Rory Copus | ... | Edgar | |
| Deirdre Costello | ... | Barmaid | |
| Alice Eve | ... | Martha Guthrie | |
| Carolina Giammetta | ... | Lidia Sciama | |
| Jeanie Gold | ... | Fur Lady | |
| Anthony Howell | ... | Hamlet | |
| Philip McGinley | ... | Chris | |
| David McKail | ... | Frink | |
| Leon Ockenden | ... | Rosencrantz | |
| Daniel Pape | ... | TV Producer | |
| Linda Spurrier | ... | Train Passenger | |
| James Warrior | ... | Cab Driver | |
| Mark Wells | ... | Cyclist #1 | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
90 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColour:
ColourSound Mix:
StereoFun Stuff
Quotes:
Stephen Hawking: We are very very small. But we are profoundly capable of very very big things. moreFAQ
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In the 1960's, Stephen Hawking celebrates his 21st birthday at his parent's house before going out to his garden with a girl. As he lies looking up at the stars he realises he cannot move. After many tests, Stephen is diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Regardless he continues onto Cambridge to study physics. As his body starts to breakdown his mind shows no sign of stopping.
With the basic premise of mind prevailing over the failings of the body it is a surprise that no studio has had a crack at making a movie of the story prior to this (if they have I have not heard of it). I imagined that it would be turned into a cheap TVM for US daytime TV but happily the BBC got to it first. This film focuses on the Cambridge years of Hawking's life where he is diagnosed but fights on to formulate his theory of the big bang. This strand is very cleverly cut together with an interview with an interview (set in 1978) with Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson about their Nobel prize. The connection between the two wasn't known to me at the start but it does a very good job of showing the importance of both theirs and Hawking's work.
The interview section was very enjoyable simply because I didn't know where it was going and only a bit where the interviewer makes a big deal out of Penzias' German background for no reason struggles. The main thrust is a mixed bag but generally succeeds as it is an engaging human story even if you can't understand the science. Although the science is very simplified for the audience, what the film does do is translate the energy and excitement behind discovery and the mind. Not all of it works of course and there are some scenes that are distinctly weak. At the start the film states that some scenes are fictional and it is some of the weaker ones that are - I found it hard to accept the geeky Hawking chatting up a girl by talking physics to her; likewise some other scenes lack credence due to their setting and dialogue.
Cumberbatch does very well with his portrayal of Hawking considering he had no footage to work with and only was able to meet the man himself once before shooting once during it. He manages to look a little like Hawking and has got his smile down well (the smile that Hawking still has). His weak moments come when the dialogue gets a bit silly but he manages to convey the excitement of the big bang revelation as well remaining a likeable guy who's mental ability never alienated me. The support cast is mostly quite good, there is a minor straight role for John Sessions who does well, as do the guys who play Wilson and Penzias. Dillon's Jane is a bit weak and her fake tan leaves a white mark at her hairline that I found rather distracting (how shallow am I?!).
Overall this is an enjoyable little film despite it's weaknesses in the script and in the delivery at times. The basic human story is rather inspiring (even if few of us can rely on my mind to quite Hawking's degree) and the film manages to make the science rather exciting even if it fails to really explain it on much more than a childishly simplified level.