Cast: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso
Director: Taylor Hackford
Producers: Taylor Hackford, Charles Mulvehill
Screenplay: Tony Gilroy
Cinematography: Slawomir Idziak
Music: Danny Elfman
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
Proof of Life is a curious mixture of psychological drama and romance, with elements of a straightforward action thriller grafted onto the end. While the film is not without its high points, the mixture fails about as often as it succeeds. One of the problems is that the more interesting story is relegated to subplot status while the less intriguing aspects take center stage. This creates an odd dynamic that dramatically limits the level of tension. Veteran director Taylor Hackford has had some success in the past with thrillers (such as The Devil's Advocate and Dolores Claiborne), but he never finds the proper balance here.
Proof of Life begins with an extended flashback sequence that introduces us to Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe), a top negotiator for Luthan Risk International, a company that specializes in kidnap & rescue operations. After only a couple of days at home in London following a harrowing experience in Chechnya, Terry is sent to Tecala, South America, where a U.S. citizen, Peter Burman (David Morse), has been taken prisoner by the ELT (Liberation Army of Tecala), a guerrilla force that specializes in drug production and kidnapping. Peter is an engineer working on building a dam, but, since his project is being financed by an oil company, the ELT expects him to command a large ransom. Terry begins his work by making contact with Peter's wife, Alice (Meg Ryan), and his sister, Janice (Pamela Reed), and the mission becomes personal when Terry falls for Alice.
The most compelling scenes in Proof of Life are those that depict Peter's captivity - his relationship with the ELT recruits that shuttle him from place-to-place, his attempts to escape, and his friendship with a mentally unstable fellow kidnap victim. Unfortunately, these sequences represent a minority of the movie's screen time. Far too much of the film's 132 minute running length is spent on the banal interaction between Terry and Alice, the ransom negotiations, and the business politics that prevent the oil company from becoming involved. None of this stuff is terribly interesting; it feels more like filler than the main thrust of a plot. Added to that, contrivances and coincidences abound (for example, consider the highly improbable manner in which Terry discovers the identity of the voice on the radio).
Proof of Life undergoes a radical shift in tone during the final 30 minutes, which feature a rousing action sequence. This offers the opportunity for an exciting climax, but the movie takes too long to get to this point. The romance is resolved in a perfunctory manner. Some may find this dissatisfying, but I didn't care enough about the low-key love story for it to make much of a difference. Proof of Life's payoff isn't in the denouement; it's in the gunfire-and-explosions rich segment that precedes it.
Neither Meg Ryan nor Russell Crowe is well cast. I have long been an advocate of Ryan's ability to succeed in dramatic roles (check out her work in Courage Under Fire and Hurlyburly for samples), but her performance as Alice is bland and unconvincing. She never captures the fire necessary to make Alice a vital character. Opposite Ryan, Crowe comes across as largely emotionless. This might be the right approach for a start-to-finish action film, but Proof of Life has too much drama for Crowe's impassivity to be anything other than a detraction. The strength he brought to his parts in both The Insider and Gladiator is absent in this arena. Also, perhaps surprisingly, there's no evidence of chemistry between Ryan and Crowe. Considering that their overpublicized real-life romance began during the filming of Proof of Life, I would have expected some of that energy to translate to the screen, but it doesn't.
Although Ryan and Crowe disappoint, Proof of Life features a pair of nice supporting performances. The film's acting standout is the underrated David Morse (last seen in Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark), who does a remarkable job as Peter. In fact, the strength of Morse's work is a reason why Proof of Life would have been more effective had additional screen time been accorded to his character and less to Alice and Terry. Meanwhile, David Caruso, who has been largely invisible since his twin post-NYPD Blue flops, Kiss of Death and Jade, gives a lively portrayal as Dino, one of Terry's associates in South America. Caruso, who has functioned better as a secondary performer than as a lead, is at ease in this part.
One thing that Proof of Life has going for it is the involvement of Slawomir Idziak. The veteran Polish cinematographer, who worked four times with Krzysztof Kieslowski (The Scar, A Short Film About Killing, The Double Life of Veronique, Blue), continues a long-standing trend of fashioning visually interesting cinematic palettes by employing a variety of filters, odd angles, and intriguing shots. However, the movie's impressive look cannot fully compensate for the uneven and partially involving nature of the overall story. Proof of Life is too long, and, because of its divided focus, too shallow. It's a moderately diverting motion picture, but there's nothing here that should, or likely will, inspire a big box office windfall.
© 2000 James Berardinelli