Review of Proof (1991) by Tawseef R — 27 Aug 2010

There is a quality of depth here and the actors do a great job of trying to convey that, especially Gwyneth Paltrow who is better here than she is in most things. Hope Davis is terrific as her sister who has stayed away and now comes to interfere after their father's death, but Hopkins, purely in flashback, feels like he's phoning it in; Gyllenhaal, though, is earnest and gives quality work.

Still, it is very theatrical and the depth the play has seems to be a bit lost, scattered in its film version. Still the quality of the themes are apparent. I struggled a bit with some of the editing decisions and the way the flashbacks were interspersed so casually throughout made it a bit hard to follow; it works in play form, but not so much in film.

I wanted to like it more and it could've been a great, great film.