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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

If you don't believe in yourself, who will believe in you?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States] 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

Gwyneth Paltrow was pregnant with Apple Martin while filming.

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Goofs

When Catherine and her father take dinner and they are talking about how many days she missed by being lazy, her hair position alternates from a shot to another. Her fringe is first on the sides of her face, then in the next shot it's pulled back to her ponytail, then back again on the sides in the next shot.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.95 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Uganda
(2000)
Performed by Voodoo Dogs
Written by Bob Ward & Larry Goldings
Published by Ward-B Music/SESAC, Largold Music/ASCAP
Taken from the CD Voodoo Dogs (PM 2061) on Palmetto Records, Inc.

User Reviews

powerful performance

by the dialogue, you can tell this story began as a very good play. the issue with making a movie from a very good play is that you have to add something impossible to do on stage. i think paltrow does an excellent job. i'm not a big gwyn fan, but the way she portrayed her deep sadness throughout the movie, in closeups you wouldn't see from the balcony section of a theater - the fragility of her grasp on reality, the trauma of watching her father deteriorate before her eyes... this is something beyond "a beautiful mind," which centered more on the hallucinations and surreality of a victim of mental disease. "proof," instead, focuses on the father-daughter relationship and how, even after caring for his deteriorated mind for years, a daughter doesn't think twice about seeking her father's approval - as if he could be coherent for the moment she needed him to be. i thought that was the most poignant part of the movie. there's not a lot to the story of the movie, but the depth in the performances - paltrow, hopkins and hope davis - is worth the ticket. its nice to actually see a very good movie once in a while.