Proof (2005)

The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician, recently deceased, tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students, who wants to search through his papers, and her estranged sister, who shows up to help settle his affairs.

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

David Auburn (play), David Auburn (screenplay)

Stars:

Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Catherine
Anthony Hopkins	...	Robert
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Harold Dobbs - Hal
Danny McCarthy	...	Cop
Hope Davis	...	Claire
Tobiasz Daszkiewicz	...	Limo Driver (as Tobiacz Daszkiewicz)
Gary Houston	...	Professor Barrow
Anne Wittman	...	Friend at Party
Leigh Zimmerman	...	Friend at Party
Colin Stinton	...	Theoretical Physicist
Leland Burnett	...	Band Vocalist
John Keefe	...	University Friend
Chipo Chung	...	University Friend
C. Gerod Harris	...	University Friend (as C Gerod Harris)
Roshan Seth	...	Professor Bhandari

Storyline

The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician (recently deceased) tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his papers and her estranged sister who shows up to help settle his affairs.

---

Plot Keywords:

dead father | loss of father | death of father | mathematician | notebook | 

---

Taglines:

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Auburn

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, language and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dokaz

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$193,840, 18 September 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,524,766, 20 November 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Endgame Entertainment, Hart Sharp Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Hal's clues, the proof can be the proof of Riemann hypothesis. He says "a very important proof, of a mathematical theorem about prime numbers, which mathematicians are trying to prove, it's historic, you can publish it, give press conferences, all newspapers in the world will talk to the person who have found it". It's one of the Millennium Problems.

---

Goofs

When Catherine and Hal are talking on the front porch the morning after the funeral reception, the labels on the beer bottles alternate between facing the camera and facing away from the camera.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Robert: [stirring her out of a dream] Can't sleep?
Catherine: Oh, Jesus! Oh, you scared me.

---

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.34 (2009)

---

Soundtracks

El chocha loca
(2002)
Written by Claudio Quattrocchi
Performed by Loca
Published by Big Tiger Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Lovecat Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Madden + Paltrow = Something Good. Proof? Proof.

This film is about death, love, and mental incapacity. There are bound to be endless clichés, comparisons, and parallels drawn with Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind", so I won't go there.

In the end, this film is all about Gwyneth Paltrow.

She is on screen at least 80% of this film. Her character dances between mourning, anger, remorse, confusion, fear, vulnerability, sadness, and just a little bit of love. There are very dramatic changes in emotion from moment to moment, and Paltrow pulls it off brilliantly.

Sir Anthony Hopkins role, while relatively small, is crucial to the film. His performance was good, but not great. But it didn't really matter, as Proof is all about Paltrow. Hope Davis and Jake Gyllenhaal also gave solid performances, but their as with Hopkin's role were really nothing more than support Paltrow.

The biggest disappointment for me was the almost total lack of any 'real' mathematics. For a film that revolves around brilliant mathematical proofs, there's an almost painful scarcity of and real math in the film. There are shots of seemingly random equations scrawled across paper or a blackboard, and the odd conversation making reference to some known mathematical law or theorem, but I would have liked more.

IF you want a happy film, go see something else. If you want a mindless film, go see something else. If you want a typical love story, go see something else. If you want an intelligent well written and presented story of substance involving a a character experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions, Proof may be for you.