Proof: Movie Analysis

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The movie Proof , which stars Gwyneth Paltrow , Jake Gyllenhaal , Anthony Hopkins and Hope Davis , is mainly about the struggles of a young woman to communicate with the people around her as she re-examines her life and ultimately discovers her greater potentials The movie circles around Catherine , played by Paltrow , the daughter of a Mathematics genius , Robert , played by Hopkins . Robert was a professor in the University of Chicago . In his early twenties , he contributed so much in the field of mathematics . He was highly esteemed by his Colleagues and students . However , later in his life , he started to have bouts of psychosis , although the exact dis was not mentioned in the movie . Claire , Catherine 's elder sister was in New …show more content…

In fact , every time Catherine confronts Claire whether Claire thinks she is crazy , Claire always tells her that this is not so . The only time that Claire hinted this was when she said to Catherine that she has her father 's talent and maybe also some of his tendencies , but other than that , it was Claire 's non-verbal communication that led Catherine to believe that there is something really wrong with her . When Claire forced her sister to take a shower undermined Catherine 's capacity to take care of herself . Also , Claire 's initial doubt that Hal exists reinforces her negative thoughts on Catherine 's mental health . Even towards at the end of the film , Claire asked her sister if she wants coffee . Catherine said no but Claire went ahead and bought a cup for her anyway . Claire 's non-verbal communication says that she thinks she knows what is good for Catherine better than Catherine herself and also that Catherine does not really know what she wants . It is a good thing that this small gesture of Claire led Catherine to realize that she needs to take over her own …show more content…

Catherine almost always misinterprets her sister 's intentions . In the conversation about the conditioner , Catherine mistook her sister 's concern for Claire just trying to control her life . Another situation was when Catherine was in Northwestern University and she was worried why their father was not answering the phone so she called Claire about it . Claire simply said that there was nothing that she should worry about . Catherine interpreted this as Claire not caring enough for their father Contrariwise , Catherine interprets Claire 's absence during their father 's nervous breakdown as not caring enough for their father . In fact , Claire was not able to spend more time with their father because she was working 14 hours everyday so she could pay for the mortgage of the house that Claire and their father were living in . The sisters are both looking at the same experience but how they understood the experience is This is a common cause of miscommunication , when the receiver decodes the message that is not in conjunction with the original intent of the message . With the case of Claire and Catherine , their misinterpretation is a product of their previous hurts and frustrations . Catherine 's disappointment on dropping out of school makes Claire 's life in the city seems more appealing . She specifically told Claire that at least

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