Proof film review

certificate_12A

PROOF

After taking the lead on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in David Auburn's award-winning maths-based play, Gwyneth Paltrow now heads the cast in the film version, scripted by Auburn himself alongside Arthur Miller's daughter Rebecca. And despite initial misgivings, it proves to be a challenging yet rewarding affair. Certainly it demands more of its audience than the average Hollywood release, but those both patient enough and willing to overlook a few early misgivings should find themselves in for a thought-provoking treat.

John Madden, who directed the London stage version as well as Paltrow's Oscar-winning turn in Shakespeare in Love, initially finds himself up against the traditional sticking point of any play-turned-film. A long opening scene seems stagey and forced and suggests that the transition from theatre to screen has been a tricky one. But Auburn and Miller soon open up the action, not only clarifying some of the play's more complex moments, but giving the whole affair the feel of a thriller.

Paltrow stars as Catherine, a young woman who has spent years living with her brilliant but unstable father (Anthony Hopkins), an erratic genius of a mathematics professor. As she is a student herself she has lived in his shadow for far too long, and after his sudden death, Catherine is somewhat bemused by the arrival of another of her father's students Hal (Jake Gyllenhaal). Hal is intent on raiding her father's workbooks to find out if he made any late breakthroughs.

Tackling themes of death, isolated genius and madness, there are inevitably lots of solemn head-in-hands moments but the film does become more engaging as it goes along. Its unusual subject matter is intriguing to say the least, and Madden%u2019s attempts to alleviate the stagey nature of the play generally work. He is also greatly abetted by some powerful performances, particularly that of Paltrow's. The media coverage of her personal life makes it easy to forget that this is one of America's leading actresses, and here she pulls off a fine performance as a character that the audience can never be quite sure about. It's a tricky challenge for her, and one that could easily fail, but the fact that she succeeds lifts the film into a new level.