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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 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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