Although I'm a regular theatregoer I missed, for one reason or another, Gwyneth Paltrow's performance in the Pulitzer Prizewinning play on which this movie is based, when she played in it on the London stage but I did savour what in the theatre was surely the Act One curtain line and clearly lost some of its dramatic impact on screen where we have to move on in seconds rather than the fifteen-twenty minutes in the legitimate theatre. The film is clearly a vehicle for Paltrow and she takes full advantage running the gamut of emotions from A to about L and she is well supported by all hands though I tend to agree with the person who questioned the likelihood of someone looking like Jake Gylleanhael being obsessed by pure math. Though I can offer no evidence to support it my own theory is that math geeks tend to resemble Woody Allen more than Tom Cruise. The first scene must also have been effective in the theatre given that it is, in fact, what is known as a 'coup de theatre' and maybe if I had seen it on the stage it would, like the first act curtain, have lost its effectiveness. There's a lot to enjoy here but ultimately it lacks that 'I MUST see this again as soon as possible' ingredient X.
Review of Proof
