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August 31, 2005
Proof
What went so wrong with Proof?
John Madden is a solid filmmaker and a tasteful, smart man. But his source material simply fails to offer a real opportunity to make a film that works. Proof is based on a stage play that got most of its power from being on stage. It is easy to see how certain big emotional moments would have been mesmerizing on stage… but on film the already increased intimacy of the form makes big emotions pay smaller dividends.
The plot of Proof is not a mess. It is, actually, almost too simple. The performances are uniformly excellent, except for Anthony Hopkins, who rambles his way to a sad paycheck. But who cares?
Without getting too far into the plot, the movie is about a woman who is so in her father's shadow that emerging from it is almost more than she can allow herself. Unfortunately for this film, her father is already dead when the film starts and he is pretty much crazy every time we meet him in flashback. As I write above, this conceit is perfect for the theater… there is a different kind of suspension of disbelief and an expectation of artificial devices that is older than Hamlet's father's ghost and as current as The Pillowman, now on Broadway.
Poor Hope Davis. As usual, she plays the feisty, nice looking, secretly troubled woman who in this case really lets her blind, petty nasty flag fly. (Funny, she doesn't look shrewish.)
Gwyneth Paltrow delivers a rock solid performance here. But it is not nearly the challenge that her role in Sylvia was. The material just isn't that interesting when you look at it as closely as we look at films. She gets to be sad and angry and sad and sad and shy and sad and scared. And did I mention that her character was sad?
There is nothing wrong with Jake Gyllenhaal's performance, except that he is drastically miscast as a quiet mathematician. Imagine Raquel Welsh playing Adrian in Rocky… get it?
The thing is, Proof is not a terrible movie. It's just not a very good movie. The performances are good. The attempts to open it up for the screen are hopeless. (See… they're driving…. It's not a stage play… but then they are talking in the box that is the car or they go inside the house to talk or whatever. There just isn't anyway to open up a chatter fest.)
The saddest thing is how long so many have waited for a film they hoped would matter to them. And Proof is utterly forgettable. A damned shame.
Posted by poland at August 31, 2005 08:38 AM
Comments
some things are better kept on the stage
Posted by: bicycle bob ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/festivals/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 1, 2005 02:17 PM
John Madden is a better football broadcaster than a director.
Posted by: Josh at September 1, 2005 08:55 PM
Jake Gyllenhaal looks like a boy in every role he plays. Why is he getting jobs?
Posted by: Phil V. at September 2, 2005 05:18 AM
He is in danger of becoming type cast as the sensitive, boyish, deep, troubled young guy.
Posted by: Josh at September 2, 2005 07:07 PM
Um, Josh, what danger? Are you unaware that "the sensitive, boyish, deep, troubled young guy" is the hot ticket to stardom these days? A lot of articles have been written on the subject. It is precisely those qualities that have become the trademark of the most successful recent action-hero films, and they are why Gyllenhaal himself came within inches of taking over the "Spider-Man" franchise.
Posted by: Chester at September 2, 2005 11:59 PM
Yeah, hes a real superstar. What movies do you see Chester? Moonlight Mile makes one a superstar in your book? Geez.
Posted by: Angelus21 at September 3, 2005 01:01 AM
Jake and Gwyn are going to need some hits and soon. We know why Hopkins is in this. He wanted the paycheck.
Posted by: joefitz84 at September 3, 2005 01:23 AM
Angelus21, please learn to read with some minimal degree of comprehension before jumping into a conversation at the grown-ups' table. WHERE ON EARTH DID I EVER SAY GYLLENHAAL WAS A SUPERSTAR? All I said was that he fits the profile of what audiences have embraced in today's male stars. Or haven't you noticed that "the sensitive, boyish, deep, troubled young guy" describes Depp, DiCaprio, Damon, Maguire and their ilk?
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Edmonton dominated the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night and the 4-0 margin in Game 6 makes it hard to imagine the Oilers not hoisting hockey's Holy Grail above their heads in less than 48 hours. And it would not come as any shock to see defenseman Chris Pronger, who had another 31-minute night, take the honors for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
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