Proof Positive of... Something

It’s a weak title, but it’s the best I could come up with. My brain hasn’t been working today.

I just saw the trailer for Proof, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal and Hope Davis. The Silver Spring Stage did this show a year ago, and I played Hal. Watching film actors read lines I knew like the back of my hand a year ago… feels really weird.

Really weird.

I’m not a big fan of déjà vu. I find it unsettling in the smallest cases, and downright jarring in the biggest ones. I feel like going to see Proof in theatres is going to be one great big gobbing case of déjà vu. And I can’t miss it. It’s not terribly often that quality plays become quality films (or just movies, depending on your jargon). I said *quality* films. I’m looking at you, Mr. Lloyd Webber. Cough.

But I loved Proof. I loved the script, I loved being in it, and I love Anthony Hopkins’s work. I’m also immensely fond of Gwyneth Paltrow’s stuff. I liked Hope Davis in Mumford, but that’s the only thing I’ve seen of hers. And the movie also stars Jake Gyllenhaal. Cough.

I don’t know exactly what it is about ‘em, but there’s always been a place in my heart for shows with small casts. Really small. Deathtrap. Sleuth. True West. Reduced Shakespeare Company’s entire line of plays. Waiting For Godot. And yeah… Mystery of Irma Vep. Proof is on that list, too.

That’s another thing about this film idea: they’re adding a whole bunch of extra cast members, presumably for flashbacks, and whatnot. I don’t wanna say anything too detailed about it in case you haven’t seen the play. But they’re adding a whole bunch of cast members. That will bear further scrutiny. And subtract from the déjà vu, as it will have new scenes.

So that’ll be nice.