"Still 'Life'"
by Scott Mantz

"Proof of Life"
Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe
Directed by Taylor Hackford

She loves you! Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe bond in "Proof of Life"

With all the pressure that goes into making movies these days, people on the set often bond with each other out of the intensity of the circumstances. "Proof of Life" is one film that must have caused a lot of bonding. Between the exotic worldly locations, the constant threat of terrorism, the accidental death of a stuntman, and the volatile temper of its director, it's no surprise that stars Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe fell in love on the set. What is a surprise is just how much of that passion and chemistry is missing from the finished product. Despite moments of high drama and suspense, "Proof of Life" seems to be missing some signs of life where it needed it the most.

With the cold war over, rebel groups around the world have resorted to kidnapping high ranking officials and holding them hostage for enormous sums of money to finance their operations. That's a bad thing for Peter Bowman (David Morse), who's in a volatile Latin American country to build a dam. After he is kidnapped and whisked away to a nearby mountain encampment, his wife Alice (Meg Ryan) hires K&R (that's Kidnap and Ransom) expert Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) to get him back. Over the next four months, Terry negotiates with Peter's captors for his safe return, but in the process, he and Alice become incredibly attracted to each other. Terry is caught between love and a hard place as he tries to balance doing his job with following through on his own desires.

"Proof of Life" starts out with a bang (literally), and Peter's kidnapping is rife with suspense, but what follows is filled with surprisingly little imagination, intrigue, or intensity. The movie slows to a crawl as Terry begins the negotiations with Peter's kidnappers, and even some of the more exciting (if way too brief) scenes during this time are a little too contrived to be believed. The one place where the movie could have come to life is blown when, even after 4 months together, the conflict brought on by Alice and Terry's burgeoning attraction to each other is never effectively conveyed. When they finally do embrace, it seems to come out of nowhere and lacks the emotional punch that the film was clearly shooting for.

One thing's for sure. This has been quite a remarkable year for Russell Crowe. After earning critical kudos for his performance in 1997's "LA Confidential" and 1999's "The Insider," he started off 2000 with an Oscar nomination for the latter film. If these movies solidified Crowe's reputation as an accomplished and respected actor, his next movie would make him a bona-fide superstar. "Gladiator" not only turned out to be one of the best movies of the year, but it went on to gross over $186 million at the box office (and will probably get its due when the Academy Award nominations are announced in February).

"Proof of Life" certainly capitalizes on Crowe's rugged good looks and commanding presence, solidifying his position as Hollywood's newest sensation. Although he hardly raises his voice above a certain decibel throughout the course of the film, his confident demeanor alone is enough to grip you to the point where you can't take your eyes off him.

Less successful is Meg Ryan, who once again finds herself out of her element. There's no doubt that she can handle the cute romantic comedy fluff, but she suffers under the weight of this film's supposed self importance. The more accomplished supporting performances belong to David Morse, who undergoes a remarkable physical and mental transformation (think Tom Hanks in "Cast Away") while stuck in the mountains with his captors, and David Caruso, who takes his brief role as Crowe's K&R buddy and runs with it.

"Proof of Life" may fit the bill as a standard Hollywood production, but despite the breathtaking scenery, beautiful co-stars, and suspenseful climax, the film still falls short. If anything, it serves as a question to filmmakers as to whether or not all the aggravation that goes into a production is worth it just for a piece of celluloid. In this particular case, it's not. The movie may be called "Proof of Life," but someone should have checked the screenplay for signs of a pulse.

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