A Brief History of Time Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: A Brief History of Time
Year: 1991
Director: Errol Morris
Country: UK
Language: English

Stephen Hawking is a theoretical physicist whose theories regarding space and time have changed the way we think about the Universe. His brilliant mind occupies a fragile body; worn down by ASL he is incapable of speech or movement, rather he uses his fingers to type words into a computer which expresses his thoughts. When approaching this flick, I feared it would consist of incomprehensible scientific discussion, the kind physicists would understand but an  arts major wouldn't. I'm glad to have found that my first inclination was completely wrong. 

Unlike the book, this film is really an anecdotal biography of Stephen Hawking, who despite his near paralysis is one of the greatest minds on Earth. Clips of his lectures, interviews with friends and family and a little physics are shown throughout. 

The film begins with two important questions "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" and "Did the universe have a beginning, and if so what happened before then? Where did the universe come from, and where is it going" A Brief History of Time isn't a lengthy discourse on theoretical cosmology, rather it is entranced in spirituality and philosophy. It's both intimate in its humanity and cosmic in its scale. Hawking doesn't bore us and Director Errol Morris doesn't fill the screen with too much information. Rather the picture is a conversation between the subject and his audience, he encourages us to open our creative minds and really think about the unanswered questions of the Universe. 

Morris' movie is also part biography; an analysis of man who is as strange as the film itself. We get an in depth look at Hawking's life, which did not cease when his body collapsed upon itself. Hawking is a remarkable role model for disabled people as he does not let illness get the best of him, he perseveres despite the odds being against him. A Brief History of Time is surreal at moments, Morris calls it "biography as dreamscape," Indeed it stretches our imagination and makes us think of God, disbility, time and the Universe in ways we couldn't dream possible before we had seen the film.

In conclusion, I found myself absolutely entrenched by A Brief History of Time. It was absolutely breathtaking, a film only Errol Morris could pull off with this amount of intelligence. We are left wanting to know more about Stephen Hawking, and unfortunately Morris does not get down every detail, but still this is an impressive feat. Praise it! 4.5/5