The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

Jóhann Jóhannsson

By Mollie Anderson

In this biographical romantic drama, we travel through Stephen Hawking's life, with an outstanding soundtrack that helps us identify the current emotions and how painfully fast Hawkings body deteriorates. We see an insight to how he adapts to his challenging new life, his work and also his love life.

James Marsh

The British film and documentary director James Marsh is the one who brought the multi award winning biopic of physicist Stephen Hawking all together. In the United Kingdom It was released on the 2nd of January 2015. The films' popularity grew rapidly, resulting in the film raking in $35.9million.

Eddie Redmayne

Eddie took on the role of Hawking and portrayed his physical decline exceptionally well. From his stumbling feet whilst he danced to the slurred speech. Eddie was able to show the audience Hawking's daily struggles which were sometimes too painful to watch.

Jóhann Jóhannsson

Jóhann took more of a simplistic approach to his work for 'The Theory of Everything. Jóhann focussed to be more emotive to create the powerful and moving soundtrack. he focussed very much on the physical and mental parts of the film. Jóhann was aware of the current musical genres like British Invasion, punk ect. during Hawking's growth yet decided to focus on neo-classical themes.

Cambridge 1963

The film starts with a passionate four-note, looped Piano motif. It represents Hawking’s physical state before he is aware of his disease. We see young Hawking being able to run well, be very social and cycle.

Chalkboard

This is the piece where we start to properly see Hawking suffer from Motor Neurone Disease. He is attempting to juggle important academic work and the confusion with why his body is failing on him. Jóhann has created this tune to show all of Hawking's muscles shutting down, all nerve endings fizzling out. The science of our body is heard through dominant, painful sounding strings.

Cavendish lab

With the big hit of his new disease and consumed by new romances, Hawking becomes distracted and almost as if he is avoiding his studies. To help him get his motivation back his professor gives him access to the lab where they discovered the electron and nuclear fission.

A Spacetime Singularity

This piece really gives off a warm, comforting and soothing sound. This piece is quite similar to one of Jóhann’s other soundtracks, e.g “Arrival”. All of the pieces from 'The theory of Everything' are acoustic, live, straight from the instrument. Yet this piece is the only one that is quite processed. You can hear the technical change in it.

If you have ever watched Ratatouille, where Remy's brother Emile is eating the Cheese and strawberry... this is exactly what this scene was like. The music brought the flickering flames to life, swirling patterns of light, this to me also represented Hawking's intelligent brain.

The Stairs

The four-note Piano motif from the first piece is edging in again, yet it sounds strained which shows Hawking's mood. It's been slowed down and Jóhann altered it to minor. Jóhann also used a 'Cristal Baschet'. We see Hawking look around the table, showing envy to his wife and friends as they freely eat with their cutlery. It seems to get to him and he attempts to go up the stairs to rest, he is mentally and psychically drained.

What is a Cristal Baschet? It is a glass ornament, quite similar looking to a Xylophone, Keyboard, etc. It is made out of glass and must always be wet to play it!

Throughout all those scenes the classically based pieces are really flexible and Jóhann has conquered all the challenging emotions. With Hawking's main focus in life being about challenging subjects, Blackholes and the Big bang, Jóhann could have complicated his score to mirror it all, yet Jóhann agreed to focus on the simpler parts of Hawking's life. He was able to show the acceptance and calm that Hawking found. Jóhann made the audience aware that the Piano was the main instrument, it symbolised Hawking and Jane's relationship at the beginning and then he also uses the Piano to reunite them in a different way towards the end.

Mathematics and Science in the soundtrack

When you consider Counting, rhythm, scales, intervals, patterns, symbols, time signatures, harmonies, overtones, tone and pitch you will realise that it is all connected to mathematics. "I use the piano early on for its expressive quality, for its precision and its mathematical quality."- JJ In the first piece 'Cambridge 1963' the Piano is the best example of representing the maths Jóhann uses. The constant four notes creating this sequence of anticipation and excitement.

“It was a matter of trying to express the simplicity and beauty of a perfect mathematical equation,” Jóhannsson continues. “I believe that things can be expressed very powerfully through simplicity. So geometry was always in the back of my mind and it blossoms into patterns like a series of fractals"

Bibliography

• Jóhannsson, Jóhann, Cambridge 1963, Musecore, (n.d., n.l.)
• n.p., 'Jóhann Jóhannsson takes us through his score for Stephen Hawking bio The Theory Of Everything', The Line of Best Fit, 23 December 2014, <https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/johann-johannsson-theory-of-everything-track-by-track>, last accessed 6 December 2021.
• <https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/johann-johannsson-theory-of-everything-track-by-track>
• <https://www.indiewire.com/2015/01/johann-johannsson-scores-a-musical-big-bang-for-the-theory-of-everything-189051/>

• Southall, James, 'The Theory of Everything', Movie wave film music reviews, 29 December 2014, <http://www.movie-wave.net/the-theory-of-everything/>, last accessed 6 December 2021.
• D'Alessandro, Anthony, 'Encore: ‘The Theory of Everything’ Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Timeless Touch With Stephen Hawking Biopic', 11 February 2018, <https://deadline.com/2018/02/the-theory-of-everything-composer-johan-johannsson-adds-a-timeless-touch-1201269263/>, last accessed 6 Decmber 2021.
• May, Ashley, 'Motor Neuron Disease', USA Today News, 2021, <https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/03/14/stephen-hawking-when-did-he-die-what-he-believed-god-death/3160253002/>, last accessed 6 december 2021.
• n.p., 'Music Played in the 1960's Popular Music From the 60s', n.d., <https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60smusic.html>, last accessed 7 December 2021.

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