Proof (2005)

The daughter of a brilliant mathematician struggles with a legacy of mental illness in the artful and well-acted romantic drama Proof (2005). Based on an award-winning stage play, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Catherine, the twenty-seven-year-old daughter of a math genius (Anthony Hopkins) who succumbed to dementia before his death. When a former student of Catherine’s father (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrives on the scene to paw through the man’s old papers, Catherine finds herself drawn into a romantic relationship. Eventually, however, she’s left to grapple with the issue of her new boyfriend’s opportunism and her own weak grip on sanity. It’s difficult to believe that nerdy Hal (Gyllenhaal) might be more interested in pop’s old proofs than his daughter’s sexy bod––after all, Paltrow demands full attention in each of her alluring scenes.