The Theory of Everything is a dazzling and heartfelt exploration into a complex, true-life love story between two very different people separated by faith, yet bound together by love at its most devout.

Anyone who suggests that The Theory of Everything is simply a biopic on popular theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne) is half right. While the film does indeed feature his ground breaking scientific findings, it’s more of a reminder of how the devotion and sacrifice of Stephen’s first wife Jane (Felicity Jones) allowed this to happen in the first place.

The first meeting between the two at a Cambridge University party in 1963 is almost something of a rom-com set-up. He studies science, she studies art. He is a stern atheist, she a devout Christian. Yet their differences do not stop their attraction for one another, and soon they are head over heels in love.

But then came the low-blow, as Stephen is diagnosed with motor neuron disease (which leaves the brain in act yet slowly debilitates all motor functions) and is given two years to live. Undeterred, Jane urges Stephen to press on with not only his work but their relationship which results in a marriage, children and a strong, complex partnership.

An adaptation of Jane Hawkins memoir “Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”, The Theory of Everything depicts not only the difficultly of living with a physical disability, but also the not spoken enough stress that comes with caring for someone with a physical disability, the mental, physical and even spiritual strain that’s almost impossible to register yet is beautifully and heartbreakingly portrayed here by Felicity Jones, who continues to go from strength to strength with every role.

While Jones’ performances as Jane is the heart of the film, the attraction is watching Eddie Redmayne’s gobsmacking portrayal of Stephen Hawkin’s intellect, humour and especially his crippling physical state, which Redmayne depicts in a realistic, astonishing matter, with each stage of Hawking’s involuntary succumbing to this cruelly debilitating disease both sad and staggering to witness.

The balance of both performances makes for quite the on-screen partnership, which director James Marsh superbly captures and positions in beautifully staged shots, where the cinematography by Benoit Delhomme and music by Johann Johansson can elevate the movie to the highs of love, or bring it back down to the crushing realities that greats this constantly in duress relationship.

Most interesting though is the sources from which this philosophically separated couple found the strength to move forward. For Stephen it was about the search for the one thing that started it all, that “theory of everything” in which he spent his life to find. For Jane it was in God, her answer to Stephen’s question which gave her the moral compass and strength to decide she would devote her life to this brilliant man she fell in love with.

The debate between theist and atheist has been played out in all matter of social circles for years now, yet it’s only now that a film tackled such a subject in such a beautiful, heartbreaking and enlightening way, proving that while differences can separate us, the bonding power of love can deliver many rewards.