Cheap Proof of Life (DVD) (Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse) (Taylor Hackford) Price

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Customer Reviews of Proof of Life

"Missing" something
For its first two-thirds, Taylor Hackford's "Proof Of Life" is almost in the same class as Costa-Gravas' "Missing"- a politically-motivated kidnapping of an American by "rebels" in a war-torn Latin country rife with corrupt officials; the victim's desperate family trying everything (legal and otherwise) to bring him safely home. Meg Ryan (slightly miscast) is adequate as the concerned wife who enlists the aid of an insurance company negotiator, played by Russell Crowe. Crowe's character also happens to be an ex-commando, and that's where the film strains credibility. The final third, with its "Rambo"-like rescue mission, belongs in a whole different movie. What starts out as an intelligent and suspenseful political thriller mutates into Stallone/Shwarznegger action cliche...capped off by a shameless lift from "Casablanca" for the final scene.

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Just Keep Your Eye on Russell Crowe & Ignore the Rest
Peter Bowman (David Morse) and his wife, Alice (Meg Ryan) have spent years living in third world countries. At first, Alice loved it and immersed herself in the different cultures, trying to learn the language and anything else she could about the people she was living among. But she is starting to resent their life. Peter is an engineer, building a dam in the (fictional) country of Tecala in South America. He is running into a lot of problems on the site and just doesn't have time to deal with Alice and her insecurities at that time. Their relationship is stretched to the breaking point and seems ready to snap at any moment when the unthinkable happens and Peter is kidnapped off of a busy street by a group of guerillas in broad daylight.

Panic stricken, Alice immediately turns to Peter's corporation to help and they send in Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), an ex-soldier turned kidnap & ransom negotiator for a global firm that collects a commission for rescued hostages. Terry immediately takes charge of the situation and gives Alice hope that her husband will soon return to her. However, Terry has barely started working on the case when he is pulled. Turns out Peter's company was trying to cut costs so they cut the hostage insurance. With no means to pay Terry's exorbitant fee, Alice is left on her own. Burned out and disillusioned, Terry just wants a well-deserved break, but he cannot leave Alice to fight for her husband on her own, so he returns and takes the case for nothing.

Terry's hopes for a quick resolution are now gone because he doesn't have a corporation's money to rely upon. Instead, he has to rely on whatever cash Alice and Peter's family can raise and deal with the kidnappers on his own. As Alice and Terry struggle to come up with a plan to get Peter back safely, Peter is fighting just to stay alive. He is forced to hike over barren vistas and eventually ends up in a small encampment where other wealthy hostages are kept awaiting their paid ransoms. As the weeks stretch into months, Peter almost gives up hope of ever being rescued, his worn picture of Alice his only lifeline. Back in the city, Alice is desperately trying to fight her attraction to Terry and feeling guilty about it, especially with Peter's life on the line...

Proof of Life was an enjoyable film, but emotionally lacking. It was the premise of the movie that drew me in, the idea that there are still groups of people out there in third world countries who rely on kidnapping wealthy foreigners to make a living is just astonishing. I was a bit disappointed that there was not more background information and such included in the film as I think that would have made it more interesting. The actors did a fine job, for the most part, but I felt that there was no emotional connection between any of them. Russell Crowe was superb in his role as a kidnap & ransom negotiator and I totally bought him as an ex-soldier. He was definitely calm under pressure and I could even understand why he would not let himself get involved with Alice, even though he clearly wanted to. As another reviewer mentioned, there are lots of little details surrounding Crowe (his use of guns & knives) that made him seem like the real deal, even though he isn't. I didn't find myself feeling a whole heck of a lot for Meg Ryan or David Morse. Meg Ryan was just kind of empty for me. She was there, she took up space and was breathing, but I didn't ever connect with her character and the whole love triangle thing was hinging on her and she just didn't pull it through so I never really bought it. David Morse I flat out disliked at the beginning and, though I grew to like him more as the film progressed, I never really liked him all that much. It would have been better if director Taylor Hackford had gone in the action-adventure direction instead of a character-driven direction because these actors just weren't able to pull it off. Still, this movie has some stunning vistas of Ecuador and a few interesting moments with a great rescue scene at the end. Rent it at a time when nothing new has come out just so you can say that you've seen it...

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Russell Crowe is Impressive, but Nothing Else Is.
Writer Tony Gilroy took his inspiration for "Proof of Life" from a 1998 "Vanity Fair" article entitled "Adventures in the Ransom Trade" by William Prochneu. About 25,000 people are kidnapped and held for ransom every year. It's big business is some parts of the world. And just as there are professional kidnappers, there is a counter-industry of professional kidnap and ransom (K&R) consultants who specialize in getting the kidnap victims back at a (sort of) reasonable price. That's fascinating, and it sounds like an ideal subculture in which to situate a movie. Unfortunately, "Proof of Life" gives us little insight into the kidnap and ransom business and a whole lot of weak story.

Peter Bowman (David Morse) is an idealistic engineer who is in a fictional South American country to build a dam for an oil company that wants to barter the humanitarian project for permission to build an oil pipeline. When he is kidnapped and held for ransom by a guerilla group, a kidnap and ransom specialist named Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) is retained by Bowman's employer to secure his release. Bowman's wife Alice (Meg Ryan) works closely with Thorne through the ups and downs of complicated negotiations designed to secure her husband's safe return.

"Proof of Life"s "hook" should be in the details of the "K&R" business. But, instead, the film tries to make the supposed tension between Alice and Terry Thorne its emotional focus. Trouble is, there is no tension. In spite of their much-publicized on-set romance, Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan have absolutely no on-screen chemistry. The script is terrible, and Meg Ryan isn't up to the task of making it work. She is utterly unconvincing as a distraught wife. If Alice isn't distraught, then perhaps she feels guilty for not missing her husband enough. Nope. Alice doesn't even come across as being stressed. The only thing notable at all about this character is her coiffure. Meg Ryan's 20 different shades of blonde, strategically placed among her never-a-hair-out-of-place 'do give the impression that this woman is coping with her husband's abduction by sitting in a chair at the beauty parlor 4 hours a day. I have nothing against movie stars looking like movie stars, but Ryan's hair style is so conspicuous that it made me laugh. Some natural-looking tousled curls would have been more keeping with her "little hippy" character and supposedly aggrieved state of mind. On a more positive note, David Morse is convincing as a kidnap victim. And Russell Crowe gives a fine performance in spite of weak dialogue. He is wonderfully charismatic as SAS veteran Terry Thorne, a consummate professional who feels unusually conflicted on this case. David Caruso is spotty in his supporting role as a fellow K&R guy. And Pamela Reed gives a nice performance as Peter's overbearing sister.

I hope that someone in Hollywood comes up with a good K&R script at some point. I'd love to see the movie. But I can only recommend "Proof of Life" to big Russell Crowe fans. I think his performance here is more imposing than in "Gladiator", although it's simply not as nuanced a role as in "L.A. Confidential" or "Master & Commander".