Proof

In Proof, Gwyneth Paltrow gives a memorable reprisal of her stage role (in the West End with the same director, John Madden) as Catherine, the daughter of a mad mathematician (Anthony Hopkins), who is forced to come to terms with her late father’s legacy, possibly including his insanity, as well as with the obsessive love of his assistant, Jake Gyllenhaal, and an intrusive over-dominant sister (Hope Davis). A remarkably true-to-life re-creation of campus life and translation of David Auburn’s play, the movie is a mathematically controlled investigation of the line separating genius and madness, and seeks proof of the theorem in an elegant exploration of beautiful minds.