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Proof
Proof is an introvert. Three major stars and still you've never heard of it. Despite being pretty good, Proof is destined to slip undetected into the long winter of the DVD bargain bin.
Proof is a human story that happens to feature advanced maths. The two young stars both give good basic performances, but the script is not up to Hopkins' stellar portrayal of a man in decline. It's quite difficult to watch in places and so it won't appeal to anyone looking for a fluffy date movie, but it's solid enough to please the more serious types. No-one's going to see it, though, because it has no presence. Had you heard of it? I enjoyed this film: I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: . To enjoy this film you should be: non-mathematical.
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Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant maths professor who's been suffering for decades with a debilitating mental illness that
took away his talents, much the same as, say, if Paris Hilton lost her ... er ... well maybe that's not a good example.
Gwyneth Paltrow is his daughter - a role she continues from her West End stage performance -
who seems to have inherited much of her pappy's mathematical ability, leading her to
worry that she might also come to inherit his somewhat bendy brain. Kinda looks like she is too, because she's a touch
unhinged at times. Things complicate when a revolutionary mathematical proof is discovered - but I shan't give away any
more. It's a tough subject, because the story is based around mathematics - something of an atmosphere killer when it
comes to movies. The handling of the subject is a little variable - the broad feel of how the characters talk to each
other is nice, but the dialogue itself is very blunt and unconvincing. The characters talk about mathematical concepts
so that we know they know their stuff, but then they feel the need to explain everything to the audience. That's hugely
unrealistic and comes across like a Bond baddie explaining his evil plot. We don't need these things explained to us.
If we're mathematical, we already know - if we're not, we don't care.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal play nicely off each other, but neither has a clue how to be a maths geek.
Anthony Hopkins, however, makes a much better professor, and his descent into mental sickness is brilliantly portrayed -
somehow with minimal expression he manages to convey the pain of losing his mind, the confusion of knowing he can't
trust the thoughts in his own head, which must be particularly traumatic for someone used to ignoring the common thought
processes and blazing his own trail. This is the pearl of the story, though it takes a long while to arrive,
bogged down as it is with the maths stuff, concentrating on Gwynnie and her whiny irritating irrational behaviour.
Waiting for the good stuff is like having to eat your main course of liver before you're allowed your chocolate cake.
The main story just isn't as interesting or compelling as the substory and Gwynnie's perpetual shouting gets incredibly
tiresome.
