|
|
 |
Proof AKA {Proof}
R1 - America - Miramax Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (8th March 2006). |
|
The Film
 Starting life as a play in London’s West end, {Proof} enjoyed a decent run with star Gwyneth Paltrow in the lead role of Catherine, the daughter of a genius mathematician. The director John Madden never thought to adapt this work for the screen, having recently come off the award winning Shakespeare in Love (1998) and the widely ignored Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) Madden returned to the stage for a brief spell. Having lived this material for some time it was a relatively pain free process to make the transition to screen, a few modifications of course were made (the play is set in one location, a house, and the scenes with Catherine and her father interact are set as flashbacks). Paltrow would reprise her role, this time the great Anthony Hopkins had the honour of portraying her genius father, Robert, who also happens to be going a little bit nuts. Prior to seeing the details of this film listed on http://www.imdb.com I had not actually heard of this film, I didn’t realise this film had even had a theatrical run. It came and went without a single blip on the radar. To begin with I was never a fan of Shakespeare in Love and I never saw Captain Corelli’s Mandolin nor do I ever intend to, so combine the two strikes I had against Madden with the film bombing theatrically I expected a stinker. However, to my delight what I got was a fantastic film with stunning performances all around. What a surprise, once in a while it’s nice to discover a film like this. While viewing this film it became obvious why this film failed to spark interest in movie goers during its run, the premise surrounds a genius mathematician whose mental condition spirals downwards, for five years his daughter Catherine has been caring for him, causing her to quit school. When her father passes away, Catherine has to come to grips with whether she has inherited her father’s emotional instability, while her sister, Claire (Hope Davis) tries to convince her to move her life to New York where she can be taken care of. Meanwhile one of her father’s ex-students, Hal (Jake Gyllenhaal) seeks Catherine’s permission to go through and read her father writings in hope to continue his research and make mathematical discoveries that could revolutionise the world. When he discovers a 40-page proof that proves a complex problem, Catherine is convinced she wrote the proof and not her father, however convincing Hal and her sister becomes harder as neither believe she has the capability of writing such a complex formula that’s beyond any normal understanding. So there you go. Tell me please what audience is this supposed to be for? It’s no wonder it couldn’t find one theatrically, I hope that it can on DVD. The film is excellent for a number of reasons, first is its top rate script, the narrative is fractured so we jump back and forth which works well for this story as a linear path wouldn’t have been as interesting and it also allowed the filmmakers to spring a few surprises in there for us. The writers have exhibited an intelligence that really hasn’t been seen in films for a long time, most importantly this film is about the people, the characters are what matter here and we really feel that in this story. There’s no unnecessary padding or plot threads to distract from the major thrust of the narrative. Brining the words to life is an excellent cast, Paltrow proves once again not to underestimate her, her performance covers the entire range of human emotion in an understated vulnerable manner. I believe she’s an actress that uses her instincts and brings her own personal experiences to each part, and having played the role previously on stage added to her overall performance. I’m a little surprised and disappointed that she did not get any recognition this year for this film, this stands as quite possibly her finest performance on film to date. Going toe-to-toe is her sister, Claire, manipulative and untrusting is her name of the game and Hope Davis was very good at manipulating me to believe just that. The scenes she shares with Paltrow are powerful and real, these two characters are so completely different that every interaction is like two magnets of equal charge put together. Hopkins, with all his experience can make a movie about watching grass grow and he’ll still be great in it. It’s a real joy to watch this man perform, he’s able to capture the instability of this character’s mind and wraps it with a naive emotional turmoil that breaks your heart, which is truly spectacular. Jake Gyllenhaal, on the other had is the only character here that I felt was a little out of place. Hal is supposed to be a math geek (actual description from the film) who plays in a lame rock band. Sorry but passing off Gyllenhaal as a math geek is no different than passing off Tara Reid as a scientist. It’s not that I don’t think he’s intelligent, it’s that I find it hard to believe, Gyllenhaal is a f*****g heartthrob, the ladies fall over this guy all the time, and you’re telling me I’m supposed to believe he’s a no-life math geek? The film is also shot with a wide frame (2.35:1), I though that this was a waste of the widescreen format, this film has many intense and personal moments and the wide angle format does not convey the intimate feel that these scenes require. If a tighter ratio was used such as 1.85:1, this would have confined the film a little more instead it appears distant, it was like spying on these relationships rather than being involved {Proof} is a phenomenal film that was unjustly ignored at the box office, if only Miramax had pushed this film it may have found an audience sooner. At the end of the day it’s the strength of the performances that draw you in, and if that wasn’t the case I believe the film would have failed entirely. If you missed this film I highly recommend you rent or buy it, don’t let the mathematics aspect of the story draw you away.
Video
Presented in the film’s original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1, this anamorphic transfer is very good. The image is sharp, however there is some evidence of film grain especially during scenes that take place at night. Colors are well rendered for the most part, sometimes skin tones veer on the orange but this is never really too distracting. Blacks are deep and shadow detail is well balanced, it’s not a spectacular transfer but it’s very good.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included on this release, both of which are in Dolby Digital 5.1, we get an English and a French one. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English soundtrack. I was generally pleased with this track, the film is completely dialogue driven and the dialogue was clear and distortion free. The track lacks overall depth but for this film it doesn’t really require active sound fields. The film also includes optional subtitles in English for the hearing impaired and also in Spanish.
Extras
First up we have a feature-length audio commentary by the film’s director John Madden. In what is not entirely screen-specific, Madden comments on the introduction of the characters and story elements with the use of cinematic visuals, especially during the opening title sequence which, provides the viewer with their first impression of the film they are about to see. Madden provides thorough background on the source material and performing this on the stage and the differenced between that and the film version. He also comments on his cast, especially Paltrow, who he admires quite a bit. It was also interesting to hear his thoughts on making this stage piece into something that is cinematic and interesting, something that is compelling for an audience to experience. Overall I felt that it was a very good commentary that touches on a broad selection of topics, although I did find Madden’s pace and voice to be rather slow and I found myself occasionally fast-forwarding through some of the track. Next up we have the From Stage to Screen: The Making of Proof this featurette runs for 9 minutes 41 seconds and tracks the genesis of this project in getting it to the big screen. Madden and the cast discuss their characters and the story they are trying to tell. This clip is a basic EPK style piece that includes behind-the-scene footage edited with interviews and clips from the finished film. Overall, it’s very brief and leaves you wanting to know more, I was happy that for an EPK it didn’t have the usual amount of back-patting and praising everyone for a job well done. A collection of three deleted scenes are also included, these also have optional audio commentary by the director John Madden, who provides a brief background on the scene you’re watching as well as explains why it was ultimately cut from the film. The scenes are: - Not a real number which runs for 1 minute 20 seconds, here Catherine is having an imagined conversation with her dead father about whether or not they are real numbers. - Harold Dobbs exists! runs for 4 minutes 22 seconds, this is an extended scene to one that is currently in the film, the beginning and end adds a few moments of dialogue of Claire and Catherine discussing whether or not Hal exists while trying clothes on in a shop. - Are you having an affair? runs for 1 minute 32 seconds, Catherine, at school gossips with friends over lunch about a student sleeping with a professor, Catherine tries to call her father but is unreachable. Also on the disc are a collection of bonus trailers for the following: - An Unfinished Life which runs for 2 minutes 7 seconds. - Shadows in the Sun/Everything You Want DVD promo that runs for 1 minute 5 seconds. - Daltry Calhoun that runs for 1 minute 35 seconds. - Anti-Piracy promo spot that runs for 48 seconds. These are all start-up previews and play before the menu, they can all be skipped by selecting the Menu button on your remote. The extras are brief and concise, however the commentary is the highlight of this package, I would have liked to hear from the cast and screenwriter as Madden on his own was a little dry at times.
Overall
|
|||||
|