Art & Entertainment

Proof Of Life

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Proof Of Life
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THIS is a classic case of a good plot somehow failing to rise to the expectations of abox office performance not because of arthouse pretensions or a silly twist but due to thedirector’s idea of a central pairing. On the surface, Proof of Life is a hostagedrama. Meg Ryan’s engineer husband (David Morse) gets kidnapped by a group of Latinoguerrillas for his association with a gas pipeline project. His company isn’t tookeen to foot the bill for his release. A complicated intrigue involving oil andconstruction companies is at work here, but the main issue is Morse’s not beinginsured against kidnapping. Russell Crowe, the man brought from London as a K&R(kidnap and ransom) pro, is asked to return as a result. This leaves Ryan and her spunkybut lost sis-in-law alone in a not-too-friendly country. Eventually Crowe’sconscience forces him to come back, and begin direct negotiations with the kidnappers. Thefilm makes a bold detour (by Hollywood standards) at this point, concentrating on theadulterous attraction between a divorced man and a married woman. It starts with Ryanstruggling to put her faith in the reticent ex-armyman—she is after all a reformedhippie, who retains a laidback scepticism of big games. But she is also a free andsensitive spirit. Her attraction to Crowe’s cool and macho charisma develops throughthe film’s noir style and languorous imagery, and brings into focus the out-of-boundsand yet pulsating ‘beneath the exterior’ nature of their alliance. Crowe remainsa toughie, whose unsentimentality and remoteness towards Ryan is shown in turns asbrooding and insinuative. These constitute the really fine-tuned moments of themovie—then Crowe becomes too much of a nice guy. After French-kissing Ryan he mountsa rescue mission, which goes awry in the guerrillas’ jungle hideout. However, thekidnapped hubbie, who is by now a borderline wreck, is brought back to safety. Once hehands over the husband to Ryan, Crowe tells her to go without even bidding a properfarewell. The fact that the lead pair was involved in a torrid romance during the shootingseems to have gone against the film. The director could have sprung a stylistic surprise.But that doesn’t happen. The film as result becomes just another save and rescueflick. Hackford, who probably wanted to avoid conventional cliches, ends up giving a tame,traditional climax to an adult romance. Or as the audience booed during film’s USpremiere: Crowe should have got the girl!

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