Customer Reviews

Proof [VHS]

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'Proof' is a wonderful, intriguing movie that keeps you riveted to your seat every moment. It's not an action film or a serious melodrama or even a rollicking comedy. It's a fascinating, plot-driven story with one underlying theme: trust. Why would a blind man insist on taking photographs? Why would a woman continue to torment a man she insists she loves? And why would a friend betray someone who puts all his faith in him just to 'play blind'? (see the movie...you'll know what I mean). All the performances are wonderful, particularly Hugo Weaving as our temperamental photographer. He gives Martin such depth that while he is generally a miserable SOB, you come to care about him and want to protect him from the evils around--much like Andy, his young friend. Speaking of Andy, Russell Crowe is delightful. A bit of warning though: this ain't Maximus of "Gladiator". Crowe is an incredibly diverse actor, ranging from the likable guy-next-door ("Sum of Us", "Proof") to imploding/exploding rage ("Quick and the Dead", "LA Confidential", "The Insider" and "Gladiator"). If you are looking for the latter, this is not the movie for you. You'll be bored and wonder if the body from the "rage" flicks were just creative lighting (no.....he just pumped up for "Romper Stomper" and never bulked down). But if you want to see Crowe smile and giggle uncontrollably, check this out. Overall, it's a moving, funny yet thought-provoking film that makes you think about what "proof" we all need in our lives.

The thing about a simply made movie with a well-delivered message is that it will outlast any present-day film that reflects the glamour, glitz and special effects that today's audience seems to crave. And "Proof" will continue to hold its own against any film to come. It is simply great acting by three talented actors. Weaving commands respect from the audience for blind Martin, rather than pity. His character demonstrates how the a youthful interpretation of an event can shape a person's entire outlook on life. Picot's character Celia plays the desperation of a woman seeking intimacy to the hilt. Andy, played by Crowe, is Martin's light on the path to truth. And for once, Crowe doesn't "out act" his peers, making this a great ensemble piece that will always be relevant, no matter what era of movie making we pass through.

I first discovered "Proof" a year ago on the Independent Film Channel, and thank God for it. The film is akin in quality to that great period of American cinema from "Midnight Cowboy" through "Ordinary People", featuring imperfect characters playing out their imperfect lives, hidden amongst the masses of the world and their misery only for us to see.

The plot is about a blind man without trust, a desperate woman without love, a young man without direction, and what happens when their three paths intersect. No one character is without blame, and each word and action is understood for better or for worse by the audience. It is a simple story ("Proof" being the term that serves as a benchmark by which trust is gained) wrung through the complexities of people and of life.

Two of the film's stars, Hugo Weaving of "Matrix" and "LoTR" fame and Russell Crowe of "Gladiator" and "LA Confidential" fame, have gone on to recent and popular success. I can only hope that this leads to more exposure of this film, a small Australian production that is as well-executed, well-written, and well-acted as any classic American cinema. "Proof" is worth a video store search or purchase. It is truly a diamond in the rough.

I first saw this film at Sundance in 1991, and I was blown away then by how complete this film is, considering it was made for about $100,000. Good script, interesting characters and plot, and great acting. It's one of Russell Crowe's first and best performances, and Hugo Weaving (recently in The Matrix) is brilliant as the blind photographer seeking the truth. The film has a subtle musical score by the excellent Australian band Not Drowning, Waving, which highlights the tension perfectly.

If you like subtle, black comedies this is the film for you!

If you're blind people can fool you. They can lie to you. And if you're a photographer and you are blind, who will believe you? You need proof, and this is what Martin (Hugo Weaving) seeks. He is a man who projects onto others the lovelessness of his own soul. He believed as a child that his mother died to get away from the shame of having a son who was blind. Even as an adult he believed she lied to him. He goes to the mortuary and is led to her grave where he reads the head stone with his fingers. He asks the mortician if a coffin is sometimes buried empty. The mortician asks why anyone would do that. Martin suggests a prank. The mortician replies, "Seems like a pretty expensive prank." Martin spends his whole life obsessively seeking proof because he can trust no one. Until he meets Andy. He trusts Andy.

It hardly need be said that Andy, played with boyish charm and just the right amount of discovery by Russell Crowe, will both disappoint Martin and teach him a lesson. Martin certainly needs some kind of lesson. He exploits his housekeeper Celia's obsessive love for him, tormenting her by keeping her on, while denying her love as he inflicts little humiliations. For her part Celia, played with a penetrating and desperate sexuality by Geneviève Picot, mothers him and seeks to dominate. She wants to keep Martin dependant on her in the hope that someday he will seek her love. She controls his life, teaching the dog to prefer her and to come to her when signaled. In her frustration she plays little tricks on Martin, such as putting objects in his path so he will run into them. When Andy threatens to become important to Martin, predictably she seduces him. Thus we have our triangle. Andy also serves as an objectifying device to underscore the obsessions of Martin and Celia.

Jocelyn Moorhouse wrote and directed this original little masterpiece of dark humor from down under. She carefully worked out the character-driven story so that humor and tragedy are in balance and we experience the revelations from the perspective of all three characters. Nothing is fake or hackneyed and no one point of view is preferred. She has the gift of seeing more than one side of the human condition, and it is this gift that makes her scenes so effective. Note that the drive-in theater scene depends on our knowing what Martin is doing and why, while seeing his actions from the point of view of the bikers. He faces the bikers from the driver's seat in the next car and holds up a packet of prophylactics. The biker guy looks over and thinks that he is being taunted by a "fag"

I have seen Moorehouse's "How to Make an American Quilt (1995)", which also explored the underlying psychological motives of human beings, but this is a better film. It will be interesting to see what she does next.

34. PROOF (drama, 1991) Martin (Hugo Weaving) has been blind from birth. Unloved by his mother because of his handicap, she would lie to him when describing the outside world. Because of this Martin does not rely on anyone and instead takes photos that serve to 'proof' of things he can't see. He meets Andy (Russell Crowe) young kitchen-hand whose simple honesty Martin comes to trust. They become friends and for the first time Martin is able to trust someone. Celia (Genieve Picot) is in love with Martin ever since she started working as his housekeeper. Though Martin doesn't love her he keeps her on because it makes him feel good. They both like the idea of controlling each other in different ways. Celia's jealousy, though, causes her to destroy Martin's newfound friendship.

Critique: Perceptive character study was written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. Her feminine touch shines through as deceit; trust and jealousy are the main themes (similar to a soapy). The interesting (masochistic) relationship of the 3 characters is fun to watch. They are all damaged people looking to feed off someone else so their egos can be mended somewhat. In a way, the story is also about obsession and how Martin's handicap makes it all the more difficult to fight back. There are also hysterical touches of comedy, such as when Martin is taught by Andy to drive a car for the first time and are pulled over by police. Made in 1991, at a time when Australian films were making a resurgence ('Death in Brunswick', 'Romper Stomper', etc), Proof has 'proven' to be the best of the lot. Great musical score by the group 'Not Drowning, Waving'.

QUOTE: Martin: "It's hollow."

This low-budget film from down-under is a character-study of three everyday people, played by Hugo Weaving, Genevieve Picot, and Russell Crowe. Be warned that it does not have a happy Hollywood ending, and similar to "Secrets and Lies", is more character rather than action-driven.

Weaving, who later stars in "The Matrix", shows his trademark sterness as a blind photographer and misanthrope. He has lost touch with humanity, scarred by a notion since childhood that his mother had rejected him because of his handicap. To verify what he senses, he photographs his surroundings. He has a seemingly cold-hearted housekeeper, who he torments. She continues to work for him because she's secretly in love with him and his dependence on her at least partially satisfies her desires. Their relationship becomes threatened when he befriends a dishwasher at a local restaurant. Weaving's character trusts the dishwasher, Andy, played by a young Russell Crowe, to describe the photos he takes. Fearing that she'd be displaced, the housekeeper sets out to discredit Andy and makes her moves on both Andy and Weaving.

The performances are all superb. Picot shows the vulnerability of a woman who masks her loneliness with a cold exterior. As the film progresses, the viewer increasingly sympathizes with her. Her character is the most interesting of the three. And reminiscent of a young Mel Gibson, a lean and not-yet-so-masculine Crowe plays Andy with sensitivity, innocence, and a hunkiness and easy-going down-to-earthness that he'd project in his later films. Proof is a must for all Crowe fans.

This is one of the best Australian movies I have had the pleasure of watching. Crowe, Weaving and Picot prove good acting is not a thing of the past. I laughed, cried and got very upset with Ms. Picot's character. She was such a sorry creature. Weaving's character, blind and untrusting, was both sad and naive. Russell Crowe's, Andy, was a breath of fresh air and a saving grace to this film. It is not surprising he has achieved international stardom at such an early age. This is a must see movie.

Proof, an Australian film, stars Hugo Weaving as Martin, a man obsessively distrustful of the world, so much so he feels he has to take photos of everything around him, as proof they really exist. Uno-teeny-tiny problemo. He's blind. So he has to find someone he can trust to describe the photos to him. The person he chooses is Andy, a kitchen worker at a local restaurant, played by a very young looking Russell Crowe.

Hugo Weaving as Martin displays his trademark intelligence and sensitivity. Martin is smarter than hell but socially maladept. Andy is a charming ne'er-do-well who accepts the "job" of being Martin's eyes out of a combination of pity, what-the-hell, and actual liking for the guy.

Geneviève Picot does a fine job as Celia, Martin's housekeeper who is intensely attracted to him and regularly tries to seduce him - advances he routinely rejects. Geneviève's Celia is obsessive, manipulative, domineering, rude and yet still, in some bizarre, disturbing fashion, sexy. And if you think that's easy....try it some time.

As the movie starts, Martin's life is extremely regimented and limited. His only real relationship is one of conflict with Celia whom he keeps at arms length. But still he endures the pressure of her advances, her attempts at manipulation, the little cruelties when she's displeased with him and deliberately moves objects into his path for him to trip over. His relationship with her may be sick, but she's all he has. Celia had the job of describing Martin's photos to him before Martin gave the job to Andy because - for good reason - he doesn't trust Celia.

We have two great actors (and one great actress) in this film, all doing extraordinary work. In a quiet way, this movie is about Martin battling for his soul, fighting to become a whole human being. His relationship with Andy is the first time in his life he's ever reached out to another person. It's the story of how this friendship between very different individuals, its rewards and disappointments, gives Martin the strength to make badly needed changes in his life.

Favorite line of the movie: "I forgot." Trust me, in the context it's delivered, this is absolutely hilarious. My girlfriend, after watching Proof with me, for weeks and months afterward, would suddenly look at me and say, "I forgot," before bursting into laughter.

Proof is a superb film, an actor's movie with performers fully up to the job. To quote Roger Ebert - though he was talking about a different show - "I just want to hug this movie."

"Proof" is, for me, a masterpiece-giving me everything and more that I could hope for in a great work of art.

The superb script, dialogue, camera placement, acting, and new insights-they are all there on screen. The director never makes a false move, inviting us into the lives of these three people and leaving us wanting to know more.

Years from now, when most of what is churned out in Hollywood and elsewhere has long been forgotten, Proof will remain as a testament to what can be accomplished when the artists are truly gifted-and Moorhouse, Crowe, Picot, Weaving, and "Not Drowning, Waving" {who provide the musical soundtrack} certainly show us the way.

This great film gives us even more with repeat viewings and is an excellent source of discussion and sharing.

I'm eagerly waiting for this film to be released on DVD.