Review of Proof of Life

Introduction

A pretty rum suspense thriller, with exhausting production values, an enjoyably thorough commitment to research, and an almost non-existent (but languorous) romantic interlude. Whiny, allegedly ‘hippie’ and certainly eclectically dressed house-wife Alice Bowman (played by equally whiny, and equally annoying Meg Ryan) loses dam-building hubby David Morse to the usual filthy, shouty South American guerillas who hold him for ransom. Enter tough-as-nails professional negotiator Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) to deal with the baddies, slay the temptress (the juice of the romance has been cut so as not to annoy middle America), and, natch, don camouflage, ammo and tough-man dialogue to go into battle for the final snatch and grab conclusion.

Video

Excellent. With its location shooting and high budget, this glossy movie looks great and the anamorphic transfer does not let it down.

Audio

Reference quality during the action sequences, and extremely clear and crisp elsewhere, this 5.1 track is well above par.

Features

A watchable ‘Making Of’, the theatrical trailer, filmographies and a good commentary by director Taylor Hackford, who’s not afraid to discuss the more complex and controversial aspects of the production. Sadly, the disc loses points for not giving us any of the deleted footage that was removed after negative reaction to the real-life affair between the leads, isn’t this what ‘Director’s Cuts’ are for?

Conclusion

Rather surprisingly, the eviscerating violence in the final action scenes is actually worth hanging around for, if only because the rest of the movie is a rather ponderous and ineffectual non-event. Crowe is, of course, utterly convincing as the no-nonsense Aussie, built like a brick s***-house and hardly obvious foil for Ryan, who strops around having a thousand cigarettes and at least as many bad hair days. The lack of chemistry (slightly worrying given that the leads were lovers at the time) makes the mid-section a bit of a drag, full of negotiating back-and-forth, loyalty crises and ‘subtle’ love story, which, judging by the ending, is a clear homage to ‘Casablanca’ only without the charm, humanity or great writing.

Truth be told, ‘Proof of Life’ almost gets by on its glossy visual finesse alone, but really, it’s an action movie with not nearly enough action, a thriller that trades in the thrills for the sake of the mechanics of authenticity and a romance that doesn’t even constitute heavy petting. We can only speculate that a much finer movie lies on the cutting room floor or floated away during one too many production meetings, but there it remains, despite being given a second chance.