Proof (Drama)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B
Gwyneth Paltrow has had a mixed career, from commercial
hits, to many commercial failures, to critical and commercial acclaim with the
likes of Shakespeare In Love, but the track, record has been somewhat
shaky with a few films being really bad.
This unfortunately caught up with her at the worst time with Proof,
her 2005 film reunion with Shakespeare director John Madden, based on
the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Auburn. The story is about student Catherine (Paltrow) and her genius
mathematician father (an unrelentingly powerful performance by Anthony Hopkins)
who has become very mentally ill. The
title refers to a written math work, in this case an innovative, groundbreaking
one. She claims to have written it, but
is it her father’s work and she’s lying or is it really her work?
Paltrow gives what I think is the best, most dead-on
performance of her career to date hitting the nail on the head in her
character’s conflict over the work, her father, her life, her future, her
loneliness and the kind of world she lives in.
Scene after scene, she gives unbelievable power and delivery over and
over again, bring us to get more and more deeply involved with her plight as a
result and with Madden at the helm, break through anything stagy that could
have resulted in the work being shot in a dull way for the big screen. Early on, a fan and student (the always
great and reliable Jake Gyllenhaal) visits the family home asking about his
work. Little does he know he is
entering a private battlefield of so many unresolved personal and mathematical
issues that he becomes the unknowning catalyst for setting them off. The way math and emotional intelligence
waltz with each other throughout further enhances the drama because it in part
gives these smarter people more mental places to hide, making the truth that
much more difficult to reach.
I get the impression some people just did not get the
film, while other critics just allowed this one to go right over their
heads. I know films have been really
bad lately, but this is a home run (with a script co-written by Auburn &
Alison Owen) and a gem that should have went through the critical roof, which
begs the question, did the mostly male critical establishment punish Paltrow
for being so able-bodied and dynamic, possibly without realizing it? The departure of The Weinsteins from
Disney/Miramax may have had at least something to do with this, in that Disney
simply dumped all remaining Miramax films without backing any of them. If that is the case, this is the most
obscene casualty of that slate being so ill-fated, but I strongly believe this
film will be discovered again in the next few years and many will see it as the
at-least minor classic it is. You can
see for yourself by catching the DVD now.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 x 1 image was shot by
cinematographer Alwin Kuchler, B.S.C., in the Super 35mm format. Though the full 35mm film frame is not being
used, which costs the image in definition and color richness, the presentation
here is consistent and clean. The film
always feels just one f-stop darker than it would be otherwise and that causes
a sort of additional moodiness that only makes the tense situation more
so. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is
dialogue-based, but has more surrounds (sound effects and a really good music
score by Stephen Warbeck) than you would expect, making the drama and sense of
place more palpable. That is a great
move. Extras include a fine featurette
on the making of the film, interesting deleted scenes with optional commentary
by Madden, who also does a solid full-length audio commentary for the
film. This is one of 2005’s best
"missed" films and you should catch it as soon as you can.
- Nicholas Sheffo
