Proof of Life

Starring: Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, David Morse, David Caruso
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Rating: R
Genre: Thriller, Romance
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Alice Bowman (Meg Ryan) learns her husband (David Morse) has been kidnapped in a small Latin American country. A kidnap and ransom negotiator (Russell Crowe) decides to help Alice, even though there is no guarantee she'll be able to pay. Now, its a race against time for Alice before her husband is killed.

Review:

Tim: Russell Crowe was simply spectacular in Gladiator. His performance in Proof of Life does not even come close. Meg Ryan gives a fairly decent performance, but does not bring a whole lot to the film.

Proof of Life is over two hours long, but feels much longer. The first hour and forty minutes of the film is slow, dragged out, and quite boring. For those who survive the duration of boredom, they will be rewarded with a very intense and exciting action sequence at the end.

This film does have some very dramatic scenes, and decent acting all around. This film gives an interesting look at the crisis of waiting for word from loved ones taken hostage. Proof of Life tries terribly hard to be a good film, but falls very short.

In the film, Meg Ryan’s husband is kidnapped for 124 days. If I had the choice, I think I would rather spend a hundred and twenty fours days suffering in a hostage camp than suffer through this film again. I give this film a higher rating than it deserves, partially because of the amount of effort it puts into the film, and the action sequence at the end helps to soften the hard feelings towards this film.

I cannot say that I will recommend this film, unless you enjoy being bored. If you do feel like tackling this film, I offer this bit of advice and support- if you suffer through the hour and a half, you will appreciate the end action sequence much, much more. Beware with this film, viewers.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gladiator, You've Got Mail, L.A. Confidential