Proof: mental illness and genius in John Madden's film

Proof is a film directed by John Madden, released in 2005 to American audiences. It is an adapted stage play, written by David Auburn. Proof is a story about mental illness. The protagonist is Catherine (Gwyneth Paltrow), whose father Robert (Anthony Hopkins) has recently died. Both Catherine and her father are mathematicians, and both seem to have a similar type of mental illness. This theme is explored through the movie using a series of flashbacks. Catherine reflects on her interactions with her father, including the ones centered around the titular mathematical proof. Proof is like a Beautiful Mind in that it explores the occasional confluence between genius and mental illness, and tells the story with remarkable sensitivity and sympathy. Catherine discovers a source of inner strength, albeit aided by a man who demonstrates love and faith in her. However, Catherine must also come to terms with her own mental issues and work through them.

Acting and Casting

The casting choices were good. Hopkins is a good father figure, and Paltrow is also an effective Catherine. Although the film dawdles at times, Proof tells a compelling enough story to keep the audience interested. The audience comes to care for Catherine. However, it is frustrating that not more is done to clarify the mental illness or show exactly how it might have affected her father. This does allow the audience to focus more on how Catherine copes, and it also allows more emphasis placed on the subjective experience of the illness rather than on what clinical psychologists might have to say. The director might have done a better job adding tension to the narrative by showcasing Catherine's struggles even more, but generally the few occasions that she does seem out of sync with the world are successful.

Hope Davis plays Claire, Catherine's unsympathetic sister. The two sisters are opposites, which is a convincing thread in the story. Claire at first seems a bit of a hyperbole and caricature of the stressed-out New Yorker, but her performance is convincing as she does actually care about her sister and wants her to move to New York to be closer to her rather than remain in Chicago where the memory of their father is palpable. Plus, there is the added dimension of financial motive for Claire wanting to sell their father's house.

The actors were all believable, and all were good. Hopkins is the most predictably solid, but it is Paltrow who really shines by playing a complex and conflicted character. The actors who play supporting roles do not have characters that are well-developed enough to be three-dimensional.

2. Direction

Overall, the effect of Proof on the audience is moving. However, the director could have done a better job by having a stronger unifying message. Is he trying to say that one needs a good boyfriend to come to terms with mental illness and be able to cope? Or is he trying to say that people who are geniuses often also develop nondescript mental illnesses? Is he trying to show how mental illness is perceived, or how people prejudice others with mental illness? There is no real cohesiveness to the message, even though the story is generally compelling.

4. Characters

Catherine just wants to be a mathematician. Like an artist, she is consumed by her work and wishes also to follow in her father's footsteps. She also wants to be accepted for who she is. Her sister Claire does not accept Catherine for who she is, and tries to mold her into an image of herself. Claire believes that Catherine's problems are more related to typical depression in someone who does not take care of herself, but Catherine's problems are far deeper and more complex than that. Claire's motivations are not explored in much depth; she seems self-centered but then also seems to care greatly for the well-being of her sister. Hal's motives are the least explored of any character. The audience is unsure to what extent he actually loves Catherine and if he really would be there for her if her illness deteriorated. His ambivalence is one of the weaker points of Proof. Finally, the father Robert is almost more of a symbol than a character in the movie. Because he is dead, he matters most in the way that Catherine relates to him and how he shaped her character. Catherine's impressions of her father, and how he influenced her, are more important in many ways than Robert's own motivations or goals.