The other narrative traces Hawking's scientific career, as he explores the nature of time and space—and dreams of a single equation that will explain everything.
This scientific narrative made Dennis Overbye of The New York Times, who has written extensively about Hawking's work, gnash his teeth. In a terrific review, Overbye details how the film glosses over Hawking's theories and bungles some historical details. For example, Hawking and others are shown discussing "black holes" in the early 1960s, before the term was coined.