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(left to right) Director John Madden and actors Gwyneth Paltrow, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Hope Davis pose for photographers during a press conference for the movie Proof during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Monday Sept. 12, 2005. (CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris) |
TORONTO - A lot of actresses have played the part of Catherine in the stage production of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, "Proof," but when it came time to cast the role for the big screen, director John Madden turned to his "Shakespeare in Love" muse, Gwyneth Paltrow.
"I was asked to stage this in London's West End, and Gwyneth popped into my head," he said yesterday afternoon. "So obviously for me, her performance is the definitive one."
"I can't speak of the other performances," he said when asked why Jennifer Jason Leigh or Mary-Louise Parker didn't make the cut, "because this is the only one I know."
"Proof" tells the story of Catherine who is left in limbo after the death of her mentally ill father, Robert (a once brilliant, much-admired math professor, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins). Catherine has cared for him for years, in which he's slipped into dementia, while indulging Robert's search for an elusive 'proof' that will predict prime numbers.
Her worries that she's destined to slip into a similar type of madness are compounded by the arrival of her cosmopolitan sister, Claire (played by Hope Davis) and Robert's protege, Hal (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), who wants to dig through her father's books in hope of hitting the mathematical jackpot.
The film, then, traverses the fine line between our real lives and imagined ones, with the mathematical 'proofs' becoming metaphors for the giant leaps of faith the characters must take.
"There was a hidden narrative I felt we could get into," Madden said. "It's about an accessible world. Family and relationships are accessible subjects."
And you don't have to have a love of math to take a lot from this picture.
"The film's interested in exploring how two siblings, who grew up in the same house, could have such divergent world views," Davis said.
"Real frontier-busting math explores new worlds," Madden said with a smile. "If you can communicate that experience, somewhere between math and uncertainty, life experience provides the balance."
But don't ask Sir Anthony Hopkins about math. "I asked some people from MIT to explain the theory of relativity to me, and they did, but I still don't get it."
Having seen the film several months ago, though, Hopkins couldn't be more pleased.
"It's a relief for me," he said with his trademark hearty chuckle. "Watching the movie, I thought, 'What a satisfying film.'"
As with many films featuring a multitude of Oscar winners, you'd think so many great actors might have led to the film's delayed release (it was scheduled to be released last December). Not so.
Hopkins said working with Paltrow was like "table tennis," while Madden offered up this: "I'm happy the film's landed where it has."
So given the quotient of acting gold between Madden, Paltrow and Hopkins, what do they think their chances will add up to this time?
"I never go into anything with intentions other than doing justice to the material," Paltrow said seriously. "I just feel fortunate for the part."
In contrast, Madden said accolades that add legs to the movie are welcome. "Any acknowledgement from the Academy that prolongs the life of the picture is good," he said, eyebrows raised.
When talk turned to Ms. Paltrow's long-absence from the big screen, and whether she plans on making "Proof" the first in a string on comeback films, the actress sighed. "I will go back, but it will be when the time's right."
Obviously seeing some despondent faces in the room, Paltrow smiled, and held out an olive branch. "I have filmed a part that took 10 days and a cameo."
"Proof" is in theatres this Friday.
