Math Can Make You Cry: PROOF

Everyone loves a good movie about mathematical proofs. Don't they? Anyone? Okay, so the topic is not the most exciting premise for a movie, but PROOF is not really about math. It is about the idea of proof, and whether you can really prove anything. Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) brings the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning play to the screen, a story of the daughter of a math genius who in the wake of her father's death, reveals a new proof of her own devising that may or may not actually be hers. Playwright David Auburn does a good job transfering the story to the screen (with a cowriter), though it never quite shakes the pacing of a play. But there is a lot of thought in the film, and great performances, and dense dialogue that you rarely get in a studio initiated project. Paltrow reprises the role the she played in the Donmar Warehouse production in London for director Sam Mendes (not the director of this film), though apparently a few people felt that the origianl broadway actress Mary-Luise Parker should have gotten the role for the screen. I don't understand the issues people have with Paltrow. She has been one of my favorite actresses since the Pallbearer, and she tugs me emotionally like very few can. The rest of the cast is packed, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, and Jake Gyllenhaal who seems to be in every movie that comes out these days, and all turn in great performances. In fact, there is very little wrong with PROOF, which is almost its problem. Its is a story of a messy chaotic groudbreaking proof, one that will change mathematics for ever, but the story and its cinematic expression is pretty standard. The girl cries, the boy looks strong and then doesn't trust her, the sister tries to run her life... its just a little too neat. For me, the highlight was seeing the University of Chicago on film and my old neighborhood. But if that was what I was looking at, you can't help but wonder why... And its the same problem these plays as movies always have - unless you drastically rethink it, it will always be a play and a play is not a movie. I don't need car chases or anything but... ANyway, its a great story and as permenent reflection of the story, it will be solid for years (I never saw the play, so if you didn't either, then do see the movie) because its a story that should be told. I enjoyed it, I even cried, I just couldn't help but feel sad that I was not watching it on Broadway or the West End where the same presentation would have had that much more power.

Proof is recommended for former mathletes, residents and former residents of Hyde Park, fans of Gwyneth, and ANYONE who didn't get to see the play. Rick's Rating: B+