Proof (1991)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writer:

Jocelyn Moorhouse (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Before love comes trust. Before trust comes proof.

Plot:

The life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.

Plot Keywords:

Trust | Proof | Photograph | Restaurant | Photographer

Awards:

10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Hugo Weaving	...	Martin
Geneviève Picot	...	Celia (as Genevieve Picot)
Russell Crowe	...	Andy
Heather Mitchell	...	Martin's Mother
Jeffrey Walker	...	Young Martin
Daniel Pollock	...	Punk
Frankie J. Holden	...	Brian
Frank Gallacher	...	Vet
Saskia Post	...	Waitress
Belinda Davey	...	Doctor
Cliff Ellen	...	Cemetery Caretaker
Tania Uren	...	Customer
Robert James O'Neill	...	Hoon
Anthony Rawling	...	Hoon
Darko Tuscan	...	Hoon
Adele Danielle	...	Hoon (as Adele Daniele)
Roy Edmunds	...	2nd Policeman
Lisa Chambers	...	Nurse
Suzanne Chapman	...	Chemist Girl
Angela Campbell	...	High Heeled Woman
Osvaldo Maione	...	Waiter (as Oswaldo Maione)
Carole Patullo	...	Kiosk Girl
Corey	...	Bill - The Dog
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra	...	Performers
Nicholas Braithwaite	...	Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Directed by
Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writing credits
Jocelyn Moorhouse		(written by)

Produced by
Lynda House	....	producer

Original Music by
Not Drowning Waving

Cinematography by
Martin McGrath		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ken Sallows

Casting by
Gregory Apps		(as Greg Apps)

Production Design by
Paddy Reardon		(as Patrick Reardon)

Set Decoration by
Dimity Huntington

Makeup Department
Amanda Rowbottom	....	hair stylist
Amanda Rowbottom	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Catherine Bishop	....	production manager (as Catherine 'Tatts' Bishop)
Robert Graham	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Julie Burton	....	second assistant director
P.J. Hogan	....	second unit director (as Paul J. Hogan)
Tony Mahood	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Chris James	....	stand-by props
Rebecca O'Brien	....	art department assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Burgess	....	foley recordist
Steve Burgess	....	sound mixer
Lloyd Carrick	....	sound recordist
Lloyd Carrick	....	sound recordist: second unit
Sue Clancy	....	assistant dubbing editor
Chris Goldsmith	....	boom operator
Gerry Long	....	foley artist
Glenn Newnham	....	dubbing editor
Glenn Newnham	....	sound editor
Paul Pirola	....	foley recordist
Roger Savage	....	sound mixer
Eugene Winston	....	sound transferer

Visual Effects by
Colin Tyler	....	opticals

Stunts
Chris Anderson	....	stunt coordinator: New Generation Stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
John Bowering	....	camera 1: second unit
Justin Brickle	....	camera assistant: second unit
Johnny Earthmover	....	best boy
Mark Gilfedder	....	gaffer
Noel Jones	....	camera 2: second unit
Warik Lawrance	....	clapper loader
Brett McDowell	....	key grip
Calum McFarlane	....	focus puller
Jennifer Mitchell	....	still photographer
Daryl Pearson	....	best boy
Brendan Read	....	electric trainee
Ian Sheath	....	camera operator: rostrum camera
John Tate	....	grip
Roger Van Wensveen	....	camera 3: second unit

Casting Department
Kelly O'Shea	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kerri Mazzocco	....	wardrobe (as Ccerri Barnett)

Editorial Department
Paul Cross	....	negative matcher
Maria Kaltenthaler	....	assistant film editor
Tim Morgan	....	color grader
Rowan Wilson	....	negative matcher

Music Department
Russel Bradley	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
David Bridie	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
Tim Cole	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
Brian May	....	music score: "Blood Moon" by
Rowan McKinnon	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
Helen Mountfort	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
Not Drowning Waving	....	music producer
John Phillips	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving
James Southall	....	musician: Now Drowning, Waving

Other crew
Ian Anderson	....	laboratory liaison
Russell Boyd	....	production runner
Mandy Carter	....	production accountant: Moneypenny Services
Keith Fish	....	caterer: Food For Film
Kristina Frolich	....	caterer: Food For Film
Tony Leonard	....	insurance: Steeves Lumley
Angie Limoncelli	....	casual assistant
Jakki Mann	....	production coordinator
Bryce Menzies	....	legal consultant: Roth Warren & Menzies
Mez O'Brien	....	casual assistant
Arch Roberts	....	safety officer
Oliver Streeton	....	title designer
Mim Tsantis	....	location assistant (as Mimika Tsantis)
Anne Went	....	continuity

Thanks
Matthew Apps	....	thanks
Ann Brown	....	thanks: Hill & Parkinson
Theresa Bruno	....	thanks: Zia Theresa Restaurant
Elizabeth Creese	....	thanks
Brent Franklin	....	thanks
Dowie Hogan	....	thanks
Paul Hogan	....	thanks
Nita Johns	....	thanks
Ollie O'Donnell	....	thanks
Cristina Pozzan	....	thanks
Keith Walton	....	thanks
Trevor Welby	....	thanks

Production Companies

• House & Moorhouse Films (presents)
• Australian Film Commission, The (in association with)
• Film Victoria (in association with)

Distributors

• Artificial Eye (1991) (UK) (theatrical)
• Fine Line Features (1992) (USA) (theatrical) (A division of New Line Cinema)
• Roadshow Entertainment (1991) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Astro Distribution (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Roadshow Home Video

Other Companies

• Australian Broadcasting Commission  group appearance: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conductor Nicholas Braithwaite arranged courtesty of
• Australian Film Commission, The  produced in association with
• Cinevek Film Laboratories  laboratory
• City of Kew  thanks to
• Eastman Kodak  film stock
• Film Finances Services Ltd.  completion guarantor (as Film Finance Ltd.)
• Film Victoria  produced in association with
• Filmsync  edge numbering
• Flowers Vasette  thanks to
• Food for Film  caterer
• Highly Strung Kites  thanks to
• Hill & Parkinson  thanks to
• Lemac Film & Video Equipment  camera equipment
• Lemac Film & Video Equipment  theatrette
• Liz Mullinar Consultants  casting
• Mark Bishop Management  manager of: Not Drowning, Waving
• Melbourne Concert Hall, Victoria Arts Center  concert hall
• Moneypenny Services  production accounting (as Moneypenny Services)
• New Generation Stunts  stunt coordinator
• Orana Film Transport  unit vehicles
• Pentax Corporation  thanks to (as Pentax Cameras)
• Roth, Warren & Menzies  legal consultants (as Roth Warren & Menzies)
• Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind  special thanks
• Ruyton Girls' School  thanks to (as Ruyton School)
• Sala Thai Restaurant  thanks to
• Soundfirm  sound mixed at (as Soundfirm, Melbourne)
• Steeves Lumley P/L  insurance (as Steeves Lumley)
• The Joinery  post-production facilities
• Village Cinemas  use of facilities: Coburg Drive-in courtesy of
• Village Roadshow Pictures  scenes from: "Blood Moon" courtesy of
• Warner Bros. Music  group appearance: Not Drowning, Waving courtesy of (as Warner Music/Warner Chappell)
• Zia Theresa Restaurant  thanks to

Runtime:

86 min | USA:90 min (DVD)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

House & Moorhouse Films

Trivia:

Because his character, Andy, and Hugo Weaving's character, Martin, are supposed to be best mates, Russell Crowe set out to become good mates with Weaving by trying to share common interests. He would soon discover the only common interest they have together is that they are both huge fans of "Doctor Who" (1963).

Quotes:

Martin: [to Andy] You must never lie to me.

Movie Connections:

Features Bloodmoon (1990)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor

Seductive, compelling, thought-provoking...

This deliciously enticing bit of cinema from Down Under revolves around the activities of three people: A mistrustful blind man, a desperate, love-hungry woman, a misguided young man, and what happens when these three paths intersect.

Martin is a misanthropic blind man, whose unshakable mistrust of humanity compels him to compulsively take photographs of everything around him. So deeply-rooted is his paranoia that he believes his own mother rejected him because of his handicap, and so deceived him in her descriptions of the world. Martin took a picture--his first--of a garden his mother customarily described to him, as evidence that she had lied.

Martin's paranoia that anyone might be lying to him has shaped the rest of his life, growing up to become uncompromising and fiercely independent. He behaves callously in his only human interaction--with his rancorous housekeeper, Celia. Celia is obsessively, possessively in love with Martin. But their relationship is a prickly one, marked with cruelty and malice on both parts. Martin, aware of Celia's desire for him, uses the knowledge as a weapon--tormenting her by keeping her on, but rebuffing her attempts. In return, Celia spitefully rearranges the furniture so Martin will run into it and exploits his dependency on her to boost her own ego.

Years later, Martin is still a photographer, but now he wants someone he can trust to describe his first photo to him, thus giving him the 'proof' of a long-dead mother's love.

This someone happens to be Andy, a dishwasher at a local restaurant. But when Andy threatens to become too great an influence in Martin's life, Celia, feeling her territory has been violated, sets out to discredit Andy--using her sexuality to control both men.

"Proof" could all so easily have slipped into melodramatic theatrics, but the film skips nimbly along the line, managing to evade all potential traps. Most of the credit is due to the adroit, agile script and the outstanding performances from the cast.

Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film's director and writer, has the innate gift of comprehending, capturing, and conveying the human condition so aptly, so that the audience is deftly drawn into these characters' lives. The film doesn't rely on a contrived plot to induce interest; these ordinary characters are intrinsically fascinating simply because of who they are.

The acting is superb, making for a fabulous ensemble piece. Hugo Weaving renders a thoughtful performance as Martin, convincingly portraying a man who has closed himself off so effectively against the possibility that he might get hurt, that he has cut off the possibility of feeling. Genevieve Picot is likewise excellent, marvelously calculating, yet vulnerable as Celia. And Russel Crowe radiates an already unmistakable and irresistible charisma on-screen in this early role as Andy. His easy-going, honest, bloke-next-door charm is utterly appealing--a far cry from later roles in "L.A. Confidential" and "Gladiator", showing his incredible acting range.

This diabolically clever, enormously witty, and refreshingly original film can be hilariously funny at some times, genuinely heart-rending at others, and an all-round brilliant bit of cinema. Well-worth a look.