Proof of Life (2000)

Absolutely Fantastic

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

South American rebels kidnap Peter Bowman (David Morse), a US engineer who works for an oil company. The company calls in negotiator Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe). When the oil company abandons them, Bowman's wife Alice (Meg Ryan) begs Terry to stay.First we must address the Russell Crowe - Meg Ryan real life romance. It definitely muddied the movie's reception. But it's eerie how the movie mirrors real life. David Morse plays the husband a little bit too unlikeable. It made the budding romance of the leads uncomfortably too real in both life and movie. That part of the movie is just too creepy. I do like Russell Crowe negotiating with the rebels. The action at the end is worthwhile and the whole story flows very well.

Plot: A kidnap & ransom specialist falls in love with the wife of the man he is supposed to be rescuingAt 135 minutes in length, this "thriller" simply doesn't thrill; it should have been no longer than 100 minutes. The narrative is flabby and the story ponderous; the love affair between the two leads is tepid, with little spark between the lovers (despite the two actors actually having an affair at the time); and the depiction of the American characters as boorish and self-obsessed is either a cutting indictment of them (Ugly American style) or a reflection on the same qualities existing in the film's creators. Even the end, which rejects the traditional Hollywood happy ending, is over-blown and bombastic; turning a brief reflective look into a meaning-filled, half a minute long piece of soul searching. The solitary redeeming feature is the climactic battle, which rejects the excess and angst of the rest of the film in favour of a super-lean and intelligent rescue mission. It's brilliant but it isn't worth slogging through the film to get to it. Better to just watch it on YouTube.

There are many horrid events which pervade the major News services of the modern world. One kidnapping incident eventually became the inspiration for William Prochnau to write a noteworthy article on it. When it hit the silver screen, Taylor Hackford directed the movie with the flair of a dramatic adventure. In fact, if memory serves, I believe I saw an old Black and White film with a similar formula starring the late Clark Gable. The movie is called " Proof of Life " and stars Russell Crowe as Terry Thorne, an ex-soldier, global adventurer and hostage negotiator. David Morse plays Peter Bowman, a Reknown, dam building engineer who is taken hostage by South American rebels who promise to execute him unless several million dollars in Ransom is paid. With his worried wife (Meg Ryan) at home and Bowman's parent company refusing to pay the money, Thorne must find a way to rescue Bowman with private means. David Caruso is excellent as Dino, an experience friend and former soldier who for a piece of the reward money decides to go along. The film is slow to develop, but when it launches itself, it becomes a touch and go, shoot-em-up exciting caper with an explosive climax. This film will be a Classic in the future with Crowe and Caruso taking bows. Recommended. ****

I found this to be a very decent, well made motion picture that did what it was supposed to do: entertain! Now I do agree with the critics that it has some shortfalls, it is certainly not perfect, but sufficiently good to offer more than two hours of suspense, action and basically film-going enjoyment. I disagree with most that the movie is too long, I find the duration to be fine, I did not catch myself being bored for an instant for the duration of the film.As far as the acting is concerned, I think David Morse put in an excellent performance here as the kidnapped husband. Very good acting indeed. As far as the two starring actors are concerned, I do not find as some say, that Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe were miscast in this picture. On the contrary I think they work well in this type of picture, especially Russel Crowe who does a very good job playing an ex SAS officer. Special forces soldiers do not look or act like Schwarzenegger, they are more or less exactly as Crowe portrayed them. Yes, I agree that Meg Ryan could have been more emotionally involving, more dramatic, but she brings so many other things to the screen that others don't (naivete, believability, charm, etc.). You can't have everything (well you can, but not always...). In other, I found the movie has been well directed, the cinematography and sound are also good. On the flip side, the screenplay could have been a little more 'sophisticated' (Ebert put it very nicely: "Perhaps the screenplay should have been kept simmering until it was reduced a little, and its flavors made stronger").All in all, not an artistic masterpiece but a good, entertaining motion picture to watch with a beer and a nice packet of popcorn. Isn't this what movies are supposed to be about anyway?