{proof...and other stories}

I've been meaning to write about a movie called {Proof} that I saw sometime ago on TV.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthonly Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal (the actor who made being gay on horseback fashionable thanks to Brokeback Mountain). And since I'm going to write about a movie, perhaps, a few others thrown in for good measure too will help me get them all out of my system.

First off, I didn't see the movie from the beginning. But of course it didn't matter as I was hooked from the moment I saw Gwyneth Paltrow shrieking at her sister after her brilliant mathematician father's death who is played by the brilliant Anthony Hopkins. Anthony Hopkins never fails to please. He's measured, he's reigned in, even when he's behind bars as Hannibal, and of course I adore his perfect British accent.

So we have Gwyneth Paltrow the younger of the 2 daughters who has looked after her ailing father while he was battling with Alzheimer's or whichever disease, am not sure, and then of course he dies leaving behind a body of work that could prove to be quite priceless in the field of mathematics. The elder sister comes for the funeral, wants to take the younger one away with her to the Big Apple, New York of course, and the budding love story between the young mathematics research student Gyllenhaal and Ms.Paltrow is what this picture is about. Or is it? Not really. As the title suggests, it's about a {proof} written apparently by the later brilliant Professor, but Paltrow says it's actually she who's written this. So why should it be so compelling? It's just some mathematical mumbo jumbo for Chrissakes isn't it! Aaah, no! It's a proof on primary numbers and of course it is one that scientists and mathematicians have been trying to work out for years and if this one is proved to be correct, then it would create history and the world of mathematics would not really be the same. (Like we wouldn't have 1, 2, as we know it right? Ha ha!). So of course the 2 other protagonists of the film have doubts about the authenticity of the claim by the young, distraught and brilliant genius. And of course it's written by her, what do you think! And it's proved, that women can write proofs too. Poof!

Of course as the movie trudged along on a predictable but albeit very engaging path, I once again wondered what I had wondered sometime ago (and written somewhere in my archives on idiosyncrazies8.blogspot.com). Is it just us, is it genetics, is it geography, history, what? I mean why are there not too many women scientists? Why do we not have the scientific temperament as a species or sex or whatchamacallit?

Am sure not too many would be able to recall more than 10 women scientists in any field in the past 25 years or more. Is it that we're not encouraged to think differently, is that we're not born brilliant as prodigies, or is it that we come into the world with too much baggage? About being a woman, about our sexuality, about the basic essential role that we are supposed to play - homemaker, nurturer, care giver, mother and more - roles that from time immemorial have been dinned into our heads and shunned to an extent by 'burn the bra' shrieking feminists hoping of course to change that undeniable fact, by letting our udders loose. I'm not sure what the reason is, but women as scientists? Ummm....er...well...yeah sure, but...ok...why not!

Look, much to the umbrage of many of my female brethren who mayn't agree with what I have to say here and who're probably bristling with indignation, if I were to be honest, I'd say:
a) Men are far far wittier than women for sure - there are far more funny men you remember than funny women. Funny women are then branded as 'over smart' or 'Lucille Ball' which isn't saying much. Roseanne Barr or Ellen de Generes may be good, but they're one in many millions.
b) Men are better cooks - the predominantly female bastion, the kitchen, is also where men excel. The world's best restaurants are owned and cooked for by males (mostly). Check out the Michelin star rated restaurants and you'll find they're conceptualised by men, owned by men and cooked by men.
c) Men are better clothiers. Of course Chanel, Donna Karan, Stella McCartney nothwithstanding, the fashinistas have a soft spot for Armani, Gucci, Valentino, Klein and so on. When the male designers need to strut the stuff they design, they of course need anorexic, ugly, ready to fall off those ugly monstrosities called high-heels (also designed by a male, mostly Galliano or Prada, or whoever), females.
d) Men are better film-makers, and photographers, and poets and painters and yes, the list doth go on. Of course you will argue and I will argue with you, that this is a limited list and a very myopic view, and we have hundreds and thousands of wonderful artists in the village and craftswomen and the women are not really allowed in many countries to explore and flower and bloom, like in Iran. or in other countries, as they're just basically fighting for survival. But where there are women and children, there we have men too you know. So it's not that women are in isolation fighting for their place in the sun. But somehow women I think genetically don't have that bent of mind for figures and I mean numbers here, sheer numbers. Perhaps it's their own lack of self-belief in their abilities and strength. Strange, when you think, how powerful and strong they can be when being behind the scenes and egging and urging and crafting and plotting for their sons, husbands and brothers. Women are a mystery. Beautiful, everlasting, complex. Maybe that's why the {proof} caught my fancy. Because women are like mathematics.

Other stories that I liked:

Music & Lyrics - see it for the brilliantly funny Hugh Grant. I'm sure the screenplay and dialogues were written by an Englishman. Americans I don't think possess that kind of subtle humour that is so charmingly portrayed by this very good-looking Englishman. He's not a bumbling, 'and so..er...I...I...umm..' kind of person at all here. He speaks fluently, he struts his stuff superbly (and you should see his pelvic thrusts) and I'd give a 4.5 * for this movie. It makes you go 'cheeeeese' when you come out of the theatre. Feel-good, not mushily soppy, just a lovely romcom. Drew Barrymore is nice too, but sorry Charlie's Angel, Hugh here is Phew!!!

Nishabd - meaning wordless. Almost did a double bill last night. But there was a gap of 3 hrs, so had a shandy, some cheese toast and masala mushrooms, shared a few laughs with my ex-colleague now friend with whom incidentally I also saw M&L, and then settled down to see the one and only AB (Amitabh Bachchan) do his 'in love with an 18 year old when I'm 60' different kind of role. My recommendation? Watch it. Why? It's not wordless, nor mindless. It does kind of leave you feeling, 'so what's the big deal' at the end of the film, as it ends not in a very 'black & white' manner, but in a slightly grey area. It tries and tackles a very very very real and probable situation of a really elderly man falling for a enchanting, tease of a girl who is only 18. I only have one thing to say every time I come out watching Amitabh Bachchan in a powerful performance. Is there ever ever ever ever going to be anyone quite like him again in Hindi cinema? He's God! Of course Aamir and Kamal Hassan and quite a few others are very very very accomplished actors. But AB has it all doesn't he? The towering personality literally and figuratively, the fantastic baritone, the perfect accent, the education, the humility (whether cultivated, a facade or genuine, don't know, don't care), the superb true-life inspirational story, a culture of education what with his father the poet, yes, he has it all. I'd go for him hook, line and sinker any day, any time, any where, any season. Gimme AB any day (actually now, even his baby will do).

Coyote Ugly - this is a movie I'd been dying to see and again managed to see it not from the beginning. But enjoyed the slightly brazen, but heart-in-the-right-place kind of movie. I love the lead pair, I think some Perabo and some Garcia. Check them out on www.imdb.com . She has a smile to die for. The kind that would truly light up a dark room or mind and he has an earnestness to pledge 'forever' for. Good stuff. I enjoyed it. Watch it. If you're a man, you'd of course enjoy all the hip-swinging and some cool bartender moves, but also enjoy it for the movie it is, with the lovely song by LeAnn Rimes 'Can't Fight The Moonlight' making it worth the popcorn and time. It's the kind you could curl up with your girl friend and enjoy.

That's it from the film critic for today. Lots more coming up. Stay tuned!