Proof is a movie about Catherine, a daughter of a genius, but mentally disabled, mathematician and her struggle with his admirers and older sister and what she may have inherited from her father-his madness and/or genius. Proof effectively deals with issues of gender, genius, care-giving and mental disability.
Proof has a solid cast. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Catherine. Anthony Hopkins plays her father. Hope Davis plays her sister, Claire. Jake Gyllenhaal plays her father’s admirer and potential love interest. Though they do a superb job, it felt like a play, and I was not surprised to discover that Proof was originally a play after watching the film.
I enjoyed Proof more than I expected. My favorite aspect of Proof was the idea of who is considered a reasonable, objective arbiter of truth: a mediocre male mind. I loved when Catherine finally stood up for herself and basically said that they did not even understand the work so how could they judge who wrote it. I could really relate to the daughter’s unconventional, i.e. natural, reactions to real stimuli being reinterpreted in the lens of what is reasonable and what is crazy. Catherine sounds crazy, but she is not wrong.
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She is not paranoid. Gyllenhaal’s character is trying to steal a notebook. Her sister suggests that Catherine is delusional and made up an imaginary guy, but Gyllenhaal’s character exists. Yes, Catherine was hostile to the police because she no longer wanted them there after Gyllenhaal’s character explained why he took the notebook. Her interpretation of a person’s motives may be wrong, but understandable.
Most people instantly believe the worst about her, which is a little unreasonable considering the precipitating circumstances, her father’s death. Suddenly everyone is there when she was alone taking care of her father. It is a tricky self-serving tightrope: she is too crazy to be alone now that there may be something to gain (his work, his property), but just sane enough to care for him alone without any on site assistance. They almost appear to be gaslighting her, which undercuts the purity of their motivations; however Proof gives each character nuance. No one is all bad or good, they just butcher the execution of good motives, which leads to misunderstanding and isolation.
Even though it feels more staged than organic, I highly recommend that you check out Proof and not be dissuaded by the mathematical premise.