Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
Proof of Life Movie Trailer
Proof of Life (2000) Official Trailer - Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe Thriller Movie HD
Proof of Life Movie Description
In Proof of Life, Peter and Alice Bowman are working on a dam in South America in the employ of a major oil company. When Peter is kidnapped, the company calls in expert negotiator Terry Thorne.
However when the oil company runs out of money with no insurance, they take Terry off the case and he leaves for another job.
However, a pang of conscience brings him back to help Alice and he takes the place of the corrupt locals. He also falls in love with Alice as she tries to help him get his husband back.
As a fan of David Caruso, I was pissed that I missed this movie at the cinema (I blinked and missed it!) and by the time the video came out it was out of my mind was.
It was the perfect time for me to watch it when it came out on TV last night and I really enjoyed it, despite the negative reviews. I think the problem is that critics struggled to get past a handful of problems (more on that later) to find that the Proof of Life film was an effective, if talkative, drama with a thriller edge.
The premise is good and it allows for tense scenes where Terry has difficult conversations as well as scenes with Peter with his captors. It's not perfect in this regard as it's a bit chatty but to me it was fascinating - I got the impression from other comments that people expected furious gun battles part way through the Proof of Life movie.
What hurts the film though is Alice Bowman. I can see the potential behind Terry and Alice's romance - it could have been another layer of drama.
In fact it doesn't work in the slightest and only serves to take away from the main thrust of the Proof of Life film - their relationship never feels convincing and nothing really interesting happens with it.
Likewise the character of Alice doesn't really work - I never believed she was going through an emotional shambles to the extent the script suggested she would. A large part of the blame for this must lie with Meg Ryan herself.
She's wrong in the first place, but on top of that she's very old throughout the Proof of Life movie - hair and makeup don't matter and a nerdy little hippie-girl persona that keeps her from being a real person.
It's a poor performance and the Proof of Life film would have benefited from a shorter running time, which lost the romance subplot and reduced Ryan's running time.
However he is taken away by an actual star turn from Crowe. It may not be a clever role but he does the 'tough' really well and he helps in improving the tension of many scenes. Morse is a fine actor and he does well here.
The only downside to his performance is that he looked fit and well outside of his makeup; As the Proof of Life movie progresses, I was looking for him to look thinner and mentally battered, but he didn't - it's not his fault, I just think the Proof of Life movie didn't have time to do that.
Caruso gives the same tough performance he does in everything he does, if you like that you'll like it here - I do!
Overall it's an enjoyable Proof of Life movie if you can get past its major problems with Alice and Terry's relationship.
This aspect was weak on paper in terms of the script, but Meg Ryan's mis-casting nonsense turn makes it weak by comparison. Thank god the basic premise is tense and the male lead talking tough is good.
While I'd probably recommend watching the epic Gladiator (one of the best movies of the year, as I see it now) if you want a case for Russell Crowe as a perfectionist actor, if you're in good form with him Want to watch a movie ( and now in the cinema), that's cool too.
With him in the lead, plus 2 other really good performances, it almost (and almost) seems like there are no flaws.
The plot follows an expert K&R consultant (Crowe in great acting shape) who goes to the aid of a wife (Meg Ryan in one of her better roles) whose husband (David Morse) is struggling with his Dancer in the Dark.
The performance follows and tops) ) is kidnapped. Then the thrilling tension ensues as they try to get her back. With a few flaws possibly not enough tension and not the greatest delivery I'd hoped for, it definitely takes a hit on its acting and delivery (and what an ending).
Well, if you are looking for Crowe's famous Aussie accent, this is definitely the one for you.
What happens in real life inevitably affects the reel. Tom Cruise learned that in real life with his awkward antics - his screen debut suffered a lower than expected box office for M:I:3 despite positive critical reviews.
Back in 2000, Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan also learned that, along with their rumored romance during the filming of this film, it was one of the many reasons it became a box office bomb.
I thought it wasn't a bad Proof of Life film actually, the story which I found interesting in the first place, which I am, and being an action adventure film, it works with its big chunk of action sequences.
Russell Crowe plays Terry Thorne, a consultant in the security and crisis response unit of Luthan Risk International.
His job is to negotiate the safe return of Kidnap and Ransom (K&R) victims around the world, and of course, this often brings him where the action is during ransom payments and hostage evacuations.
He yearns for a management role, but as always, if you are an excellent field operative, you are played to your strengths there.
Which brings him to her latest client, Meg Ryan's Alice Bowman, whose husband Peter Bowman (David Morse), an employee of a major international oil firm, is abducted by chance during a raid in Ecuador.
There are several scenes in the Proof of Life film to pique your interest in K&R, the motivations of terrorist (?) groups, and how the whole business is conducted, the involvement of peers as well as the industry behind the involvement. Shady government officials.
There are many finer touches that cannot be overlooked, such as how networks of contacts and peers are channeled, cooperation fostered, the attitudes and behavior of large multinational corporations, and politics in general.
But the focus quickly shifts to a subtle one between Thorne and Ellis Bowman as he completes to build his trust on her that he's the best in the business and knows what he's doing.
Perhaps this is one of those rare films that allowed Crowe to sound Australian (and retain an accent) in a Hollywood production. His Thorn is manly enough to take action and credible enough to be trusted as a veteran in the business.
This time around Meg Ryan has a more serious character to play, albeit a weeper at times, well steered clear of the comedic roles she's become accustomed to. They probably shot some love scenes for this Proof of Life movie, but I think those scenes ended up on the cutting room floor because of bad press.
The romance between the character was also almost over, apart from the suggestion of a strong physical attraction that rears its ugly head in the second half of the film, slowing the pace down a bit without much mature development.
I thought that if it had been scrapped entirely, it might have turned out to be a stronger Proof of Life film, with Thorne's character more of a mission driven individual.
The first David, David Caruso, is finding a new lease of life back in television with CSI, as branching out into movies after NYPD Blue hasn't gone too well for him. I thought there wasn't much to shout about in his performance here.
However, David Morse, who usually plays supporting roles, makes Peter Bowman charming enough as an executive caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, kidnapped and killed at the wrong end of a gun barrel. Constantly probes a man's fear and desperation. ,
Danny Elfman's theme song is addictive (It's time to hunt), and the end credits played over a helicopter view of the entire Ecuadorian landscape, which was beautiful to behold.
Clocking in at just over 2 hours, it provides some decent entertainment for a lazy Sunday afternoon.