Proof of Life

source: Proof of Life

I was impressed by Proof of Life and would only make one comment. In most movies, the plot is tightened up to be fast-paced, convincing, make you identify with and care about the characters, and even contain a little moral or have something to say about the human condition. When a film like Proof of Life is based on a true story, there are limits to this. The worst example I can think of being A Civil Action, which I'm sure is true to the story but the ending was not satisfying and deflated the entire film. So it's definitely worth seeing, but it's a little slow, and like real life the there is no consistent "tone" to the plot twists. (The film does not fit neatly into one genre throughout.) Who should see this film: -- Action buffs who won't mind that only some stuff blows up and the film is a little arty -- Drama fans who are curious about the topic, but who are not expecting a romance and won't mind a little violence -- People who'd like some gritty realism concerning Latin American civil uprisings I give "Proof of Life" a 7 out of 10.

this movie was so bad, I still remember it, even now. It left an indelible mark on my brain - the bad acting, the overwhelming length that almost drew me to tears. How did I sit through this movie??? Oh yeah, my friend who really really wanted to see it, convinced me to stay... Was there any redeeming feature to this film for me? The landscape. That was about the only thing that gave the movie any substance at all. Morse and Crowe were wooden, Meg sucks as a serious actress, the plot laughable, the script beyond bad. No wonder Crowe when doing the press junkets for the flick didn't seem to gung-ho about the whole thing. It was awful. Definitely one of the worst of 2000 if you ask me. It rates right up there on the ick factor right along with Moulin Rouge.

Kill yourself before watching this film and save yourself from 2 hours of torture. Bad from begining to end !! By the way I reckon Meg Ryan has enough money to afford some acting classes because she desperately needs them. She is unable to transmit some grieve for her husband after he was kidnaped, instead she looks like all she wants is to go to bed with Terry Thorne. Russell Crowe was good, nothing extraordinary as well as David Morse but under the circumstances they did the best they could trying to save this Titanic but the iceberg of stupidity was too much.

This is a terrific movie, and I'm not the only one who thinks so and as such is well under-rated. It manages to combine a great storyline full of action and suspense with a love interest as well. The romantic aspect is of course really subtle, and all the more compelling because of this, and doesn't get in the way of the action. Crowe is just brilliant, and totally believable, as the kidnapping and ransom specialist Terry Thorne who is called in to rescue Peter Bowman, the husband of Alice played by Meg Ryan. Meg Ryan I think plays her part quite well, but it's hard to see what Russell Crowe's character saw in her romantically. The location and all the supporting character performances also have a real air of authenticity about them.

Different people have different tastes but I'm genuinely surprised that Proof of Life has had such mixed reviews. I consider myself a fairly critical movie-goer yet I was thoroughly engaged by this well-made, well-acted and well-plotted piece of work. The film is an intelligent balance between realistic action sequences (a welcome change from the kind of nonsense witnessed in MI2 or Charlie's Angels) and believable drama (which broadly avoided the crass melodrama usually favoured by Hollywood). One has a clear sense that here we have a pretty successful attempt to 'tell it like it is' without compromising the need for dramatic tension. The reviewer who said that PoL steers clear of both Hollywoodisation and Political Correctness is spot on - many mainstream films are loaded with both. Here's a film where you can say to yourself "Hey, this is probably pretty close to what it's really like." There are no cartoon villains (with inevitable cut-glass English accents). Nor is the rescue mission led by a gay quadraplegic. Crowe is suberb. He radiates the kind of quiet authority required by his role. Meg Ryan is good too. She doesn't give off the "I'm such a saintly martyr" vibe that Hollywood often demands of its female leads. I'd welcome a more sophisticated and challenging critique of PoL from those who really didn't like it (rather than "it was boring") because - for me - it is miles ahead of 90% of what hits our cinemas. A proper night out at the movies.

Set in the volatile political climate of Ecuador, 'Proof of Life' is basically a film about an engineer, Peter Bowman (David Morse, The Rock, The Negotiator) who is kidnapped by a ruthless gang of guerrillas. Enter former SAS man, Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), a specialist in K&R (kidnap and ransom) to negotiate the terms of his release, whilst comforting and gaining the trust of Bowman's wife Alice (Meg Ryan). The ransom demands are extreme, and as Bowman and his company are uninsured it comes down to the family and Alice to provide the money, except they do not have the requisite amount, being able to accrue a mere $650 000. This is a long and rambling film that fails on almost every level. Considering that Ryan and Crowe were having a sizzling and passionate romance, it is incredible that none of this is transferred to screen. Their chemistry is simply none existent, and although the film moves throughout at a horribly boorish pace, their inevitable romance seems contrived, hurried and without any foundation whatsoever. Prolonged eye contact does not suddenly equate to earth shattering, deep, romantic love. Crowe is an undoubted talent with tremendous and markedly different performances in films like 'Gladiator', 'The Insider' and 'LA Confidential'. There is no doubt that action films suit his acting style, and Crowe can pull off a good performance even when he is given very little to play with. 'Proof of Life' is supposed to demonstrate his more sensitive side, whilst maintaining the rugged charm and hardness that has made him successful, but this is without doubt his worst film to date. Meg Ryan, seems to have built her career out of one film ('When Harry Met Sally') and more importantly one scene (the faked * scene), and she is frankly awful in this film. She seems to be typecast, forever playing an emotional and tearful woman, and in 'Proof of Life' she is no different. Such repeated sentimentality in her characters make her performances much less effective than they might be in isolation, so when the tears come in this film, they are much less potent or moving than they ought to be. 'Proof of Life' is completely lifeless, and the only scene that saves it is towards the end where the film gets some 'Predator' like action scenes, and we realise why we have come to watch Crowe, viz. to see him fire his gun. The star of the film is Thorne's close friend, and fellow K&R specialist, Dino (David Caruso, 'NYPD Blue'), but he is in too few scenes to really save the film. The premise of the film is a good one, as kidnapping has gone up massively throughout the world in the last ten years, especially in England, but there is so little that can be said that is positive about the film, although the ever reliable David Morse plays his hostage role particularly well. The usually sound Pamela Reed ('Kindergarten Cop'), plays Bowman's older sister, but her character could easily have been left out of the film altogether. In one scene she leaves for the airport to collect the ransom money and we never see or hear from her again. Director Taylor Hackford ('Devil's Advocate') can do a lot better than this, although I am sure that the film will be a box-office success simply because Crowe is one of Hollywood's biggest actors, despite the fact that it is dull and unentertaining. Overall 2/10

Proof of Life is a good example of how NOT to make a movie. Alice (Meg Ryan) and Peter (David Morse) are married and living in a fictional South American country called Tecala. Peter gets kidnapped. Terry (Russell Crowe) is a kidnap and ransom negotiator whose job it is to get Peter released. It is possible to make a good movie about a woman whose husband has been kidnapped and the relationship she has with the man who is negotiating to get her husband released. It is possible to make a good movie about a man who has been kidnapped and the ordeal he undergoes while living with terrorists. The point is, you pick one or the other. Proof of Life tries to have it both ways, and it fails. There is no way one movie can do justice to both storylines. The action in Proof of Life keeps jumping back and forth between the two competing storylines, and it is very annoying. The movie has no structure and no focus. The other huge problem I have with this movie is the relationship between Alice and Terry. The movie falls all over itself trying to convince us that Alice and Terry are falling in love, but I didn't believe it for a moment. Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe have absolutely no chemistry with each other. You would never suspect these people had an affair in real life. When Alice offers Peter's sister Janice (Pamela Reed) a glass of wine and Janice says she doesn't drink, this gives Alice and Terry an excuse to exchange a `meaningful' look. When Alice and Terry take Janice to the airport, after Janice leaves, Alice and Terry stand and stare at each other. When Terry is on the radio talking to the kidnappers, he sees Alice in another room. They stop what they are doing and look at each other. The movie wants us to believe all this gazing is a sign of romantic attraction, but it just looks like Alice and Terry are staring at each other for no apparent reason. There is a scene in which Terry's friend Dino (David Caruso) spends some time with Alice and Terry. Alice drinks out of Terry's glass. We see a close-up of Dino reacting to this. Alice and Terry light candles. Dino comments on this. In this scene the movie is hitting us over the head telling us to find tremendous significance in Alice and Terry's innocent behavior. So what if Alice drinks out of Terry's glass and they light candles? That doesn't mean they're falling in love! When Dino asks Terry if he is in love with Alice, the question makes no sense because all he has to go on is the behavior described above. When Terry kisses Alice, it comes out of nowhere. I think Meg Ryan is miscast in this movie. I just never found her performance convincing. Alice needs to wear a bra, and her hair is always a mess. Alice never actually smokes her cigarettes but merely waves them around and gestures with them. Russell Crowe looks good and gives a good performance.

Its an OK movie overall. There is no arguing that Russel Crowe has some charisma in this film. And Meg Ryan... is Meg Ryan and really not a good fit. Overall not anything to get that excited about. But the action sequences, both when Peter is captured and the film ending hostage rescue sequence in my opinion are some of the greatest and most accurate in film. Not perfect, this is a movie so some creative/dramatic license was taken, but way above par compared to most any other film I can think of with very rare exception. Its pretty clear that they had a rare combination of fantastic military consultants along with a director and cinematographer willing to listen and make the most of it. Tactics, equipment, effects (with obligatory gasoline added to explosions...), even hand signals, how the guerrilla's operate... Spot on! Quite the rarity and very refreshing. Really can't say enough good things about the action sequences. Movie is worth seeing just for this. The rest... meh.

Taylor Hackford directs this action drama that falls short of the pre-release hype. Off screen romance of the two lead stars generated much interest; but this movie is tense, slow and too long. A mercenary(Russell Crowe)is hired to negotiate the release of an engineer(David Morse), who has been kidnapped in South America. A problem arises when the negotiator falls in love with the man's wife(Meg Ryan). Also in the cast are: David Caruso, Gottfried John, Anthony Heald and watching Pamela Reed alone will make you a nervous wreck. With all of the promo hype I expected this movie to bust the screen open and sizzle. Not this time.