Movie Review by Bill Rendall |
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ProofA blind photographer. By itself this concept is enough to make the Australian movie Proof worth a look. 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 his mistrust goes back to his childhood when he suspected his mother of deceiving him. He has a twisted and unhealthy relationship with his housekeeper (Genevieve Picot). They engage in cruel mind games and power struggles. She torments him but has an unrequited love for him. He rebuffs her attempts to seduce him. The stability of their relationship is challenged when he befriends a kitchen hand (Russell Crowe) at his local restaurant. The ending of the movie is ambiguous. It seems that the blind photographer may be willing to open up his life a bit and forgive others 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 fell into decline and many Antipodean actors (including Weaving and Crowe) infiltrated Hollywood. |
Director: Jocelyn Moorehouse Screenplay: Jocelyn Moorehouse Music: Not Drowning Waving |
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