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Review by Susan Granger
3 stars out of 4
Abduction of multinational executives has become big business
according to William Prochnau in a 1998 VANITY FAIR piece, "Adventures
In the Ransom Trade," the provocative article that inspired this
timely adventure story. So, after an exciting, if bewildering,
opening sequence in which a hostage negotiator (Russell Crowe)
extracts a victim from war-torn Chechnya, the action switches to
Tecala, high in the Andes of Latin America, where an American engineer
(David Morse) is kidnapped and held for ransom. Abandoned by his
employer and insurance company, his "little hippie" wife (Meg Ryan)
and annoyingly strident sister (Pamela Reed) try to deal with the
guerrillas - until Russell Crowe, an expert in "K&R" (kidnap & ransom)
comes to their rescue, along with a fellow mercenary, David Caruso.
Directed by Taylor Hackford from a script by Tony Gilroy,
this is a relevant, multi-layered, suspense-filled drama. Filmed in
London, Poland and Ecuador, it's no-expense-spared filmmaking, even as
it wallows in melodramatic moments. And, like "Casablanca," you're
left wondering right to the end if the leading lady will wind up in
the arms of her husband or his would-be savior. Flush from his success
in "Gladiator," Crowe offers further proof that he's a virile,
self-assured, charismatic leading man, while Meg Ryan embodies the
psychological torture inflicted on the wife. Their off-screen romantic
trysts which became tabloid fodder should fuel the box-office. David
Morse subtly shows the strain of captivity, but the Latinos,
unfortunately, are stock stereotypes, particularly the cocaine-crazed
bandidos. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Proof of Life" is a
high-tension 7. If you're looking for a thriller, this one delivers
the goods.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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