Proof of Life

Inspired by a 1998 Vanity Fair article about real kidnap-and-rescue operatives, Proof of Life stars the freshly bankable Oscar-winning Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as a desensitized yet sympathetic negotiation specialist dispatched to an unnamed Central American country to secure the return of an American hydroelectric engineer (David Morse) abducted by drug-running rebels looking to score a big ransom. Director Taylor Hackford creates an authentic sense of Third World danger, while tapping into the tension and anxiety of the victim's distraught wife (Meg Ryan) and the unshakable quality of those who stare down kidnappers for a living. Morse's performance stands out as he clings to hope while hungry and dirty for months on end, held in a hut on a muddy jungle hillside by ruthless men with itchy trigger fingers. While this could easily have been a movie-of-the-week or a B-grade action rescue flick, Hackford's sure direction consistently raises the film above the script's shortcomings (much like Steven Soderbergh did with Erin Brockovich), making it a solid winner. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)