Movie Review by Bill Rendall

Proof

A blind photographer. This concept is enough to make the Australian movie Proof worth a look. The concept is primarily used for dramatic purposes rather than as a source of comedy. The humour is very dark.

The blind photographer (Hugo Weaving) is deadly serious about the photos he takes. He deeply mistrusts people and uses his archive of photos as a means of detecting deception. Flashbacks reveal that Weaving's mistrust goes back to his childhood when he suspected his mother of deceiving him.

Weaving has a twisted and unhealthy relationship with his housekeeper (Genevieve Picot). They engage in cruel mind games and power struggles. Picot uses Weaving's blindness to torment him. Picot has an unrequited love for Weaving and he torments her by rebuffing her attempts to seduce him.

The stability of their relationship is challenged when Weaving befriends a kitchen hand (Russell Crowe) at his local restaurant. Crowe is open and ingenuous, in stark contrast to Weaving and Picot. Weaving starts spending time with Crowe and gradually begins to trust him.

Picot seeks to disrupt the budding friendship by seducing Crowe. She succeeds in causing Weaving to lose his trust in Crowe. However, her manipulative ways also lead to Weaving severing his ties with her.

The ending of the movie is ambiguous. It seems that Weaving may be willing to open up his life a bit and forgive Crowe for deceiving him. The proof of whether his mother deceived him as a child is left unresolved but it doesn't really matter anyway. We are all blind to the deception of others to some extent and have to be willing to trust others even if we may get hurt sometimes.

I recommend Proof as a thought provoking character study. Proof is an outstanding example of a movie made at a time when the Australian movie industry was doing well. Subsequently the market for local films has been on the decline and most Australians who want to be in the movie industry are infiltrating Hollywood.

Director: Jocelyn Moorehouse

Screenplay: Jocelyn Moorehouse

Music: Not Drowning Waving

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