Proof

Gwyneth Paltrow returns from Apple birthing and reunites with Shakespeare in Love director John Madden for this movie adaptation of a popular stage play. Paltrow is phenomenal as Catherine, a math student who drops out of school to take care of her ailing genius father, Robert (Anthony Hopkins), and must deal with the aftermath of his death. Jake Gyllenhaal adds another impressive performance to his career as a math geek who wants to explore journals that Robert left behind to see if anything resembles breakthrough work. When he discovers an amazing mathematical proof in one of the books, there is a surprise with regards to its authorship. Paltrow adapts a lazy lilt to her delivery that perfectly conveys the kind of stress and depression her character is enduring. It might be her best screen work to date. Hope Davis is appropriately bitchy as a domineering sister looking to control her sibling.