Proof of Life

Films can be remembered for the wrong reasons, sometimes those that have nothing or are supposed to have nothing to do what is shown on the screen. One of the more (in)famous examples is Proof of Life, 2001 thriller directed by Taylor Hackford.

The film is inspired by “Adventures in the Ransom Trade”, Vanity Fair article by William Prochnau, and Long March to Freedom, book by American agricultural scientist Thomas Hargrove depicting his experienced as hostage in Colombia. Film’s protagonist is Terry Thorne (played by Russell Crowe), former elite soldier of British SAS who now works as K&R specialist. His profession is dealing with abductions which became lucrative business in many Third World countries, especially if the abductees are citizens of rich Western countries. Thorne’s task is to negotiate with abductors, try to set ransom demands on reasonable levels and make sure the abductee is returned in one piece. After successful mission in war-torn Chechnya, Thorne gets new clients in (fictional) Latin American country of Tecala. Peter Bowman (played by David Morse), idealist engineer employed by small American construction company, gets abducted by leftist guerillas who mistake him for the employee of large multinational corporation and demand 3 million US$ of ransom. Bowman’s wife Alice (played by Meg Ryan) soon realises that her husband’s employers want to sacrifice him, because their company during corporate takeovers lost its insurance. Thorne nevertheless decides to help without fee, partly because he feels romantically attracted to Alice. While the long and arduous negotiations take place, Peter in guerilla camp meets German missionary Kessler (played by Gottfried John), another prisoner, and two of them begin to plan daring escape.

During the production Meg Ryan, queen of 1990s Hollywood romantic comedies, and Russell Crowe, who had just became a major star thanks to Gladiator, had an affair. The affair, which had been well-publicised by tabloids, ultimately led to the end of Ryan’s marriage to Dennis Quaid, and in the long term wrecked Ryan’s career by tarring her family-friendly image. It also didn’t help Proof of Life with publicity and, on the contrary, just gave some bad ideas to PR department that tried to sell the film as romantic film. In reality Proof of Life is rather serious drama with elements of action and thriller that tries to deal with Third World issues – corruption, violence and brutal exploitation by Western corporations – in a realistic manner. Fictional country of Tecala is obviously based on Colombia and certain details of the film were based on real events and personalities. Even the leftist guerillas, who were usually shown as faceless villains in previous Hollywood films, are here portrayed as real and human characters. Although script by Tony Gilroy at times have some issues with plausibility and although some plot twists look too Hollywood-like, experienced director Taylor Hackford keeps things under control.

The only exception is, ironically, the subplot dealing with romance between Thorne and Alice. Ironically, despite having torrid off screen affair, Crowe and Ryan show zero chemistry in their scenes together. To make things even worse, number of scenes dealing with romance were cut out of the film at the insistence of Ryan, making the subplot unresolved and with little connection with the rest of the film. Hackford improves impression with the action-packed ending that would remind some viewers of the 1980s action classic Predator. Hackford also had much more luck with supporting cast, which included number of talented Latino actors, as well as always dependable David Morse. Biggest attraction of the film are picturesque Ecudaorean locations which cinematography by Slawomir Idziak puts to good use. Seen without its tabloid context, Proof of Life isn’t particularly remarkable film but it could provide a lot of entertainment to less demanding viewers.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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