I love the idea of subjective morality and I wish there had been a little more in depth exploration of it in the film. There was a lot and I appreciated it but we were shown a lot of teasers, sort of, and not shown enough of them strung together. Maybe that’s the point, maybe morality is subjective right in the moment and it’s hard to bring it away into larger life or to say what you’ll do when a new situation comes up.

I agree about the Proof adaptation. I spent yesterday grilling JRH about the play since she teaches it in her math classes and lets them watch the movie as well and it’s just as dumbed down as I expected, maybe a little more even. By the way, you should read the play if you haven’t because the Hal part would be really nice for you. You and I are both a little old for the show but we could knock that shit out of the park, I think. There is an immense level of intellect in the specifics of Auburn’s writing and the format of the movie dulled that rather than polished it which was sad.

I didn’t mean to cause you any tsuris. I think my one-liner (or was it a two-liner?) was taken to mean something it wasn’t. I was referring more to the intensity and complexity (which you noted) of the film, not to any deep meaning that you wouldn’t be able to “get” unless you concentrated really hard. It’s not “2001″ or “Last Year at Marienbad”. It’s just a film that makes you think about subjective morality, that’s all. And there are a lot of characters in it. And it’s violent. Not something to watch on a night when you just want pure entertainment but not like taking medicine either.

As for “Proof”, I found it to be a less-than-skillful adaptation of a stage play. There are some movies that you watch and can peg as adaptations even if you didn’t know beforehand. This was one of those. The language, the pacing, the need to “open up” the settings. I’m sure the play was terrific onstage. (I had meant to see it but never did.) But I found the movie to be a bit flat and under-developed, as if John Madden wasn’t quite sure what to do with the material he was provided. I didn’t think it was bad. I just expected a bit more. I’m always a bit disappointed when a film’s level of artistry can’t match its level of intellect.

And speaking of intellect, yours is fine, dear. You’re one of the more astute persons I know and your views are perfectly valid, as if you or anyone else needed me to validate anything. Which you don’t. Mine is just one more turd on the dungheap of opinion.