December 10, 2000 -- "Proof of Life" is an oddly subdued tale of terrorism and love set in a third world South American country. Starring the dynamic Russell Crowe "Gladiator" as hostage negotiator Terry Thorne and Meg Ryan of "You've Got Mail" as Alice Bowman, the wife of hostage victim Peter Bowman (played by David Morse of "The Green Mile"), the movie is an almost clinical examination of a typical modern hostage situation.

The story is loosely based on the real-life kidnapping of Tom Hargrove, head of a project to improve crop yields in South America. Hargrove's story, "Adventures in the Ransom Trade," written by author William Prochnau, formed the basic movie plot. According to the movie's web site (listed below) there have been thousands of kidnappings in recent years, resulting in payments of over $1 billion to the kidnappers. There is an extensive account of Hargrove's kidnapping at the movie's web site.

The movie gives rise to a new modern hero, the professional negotiator/rescuer, an ex-soldier, who goes in harm's way to rescue hostages. Crowe is perfect for the part of the stiff-jawed hero Terry Thorne, who works for a large insurance company. His job is to negotiate the lowest release price possible in order to save the insurance company the most possible money, but he's also a man of action.

Peter Bowman's wife, Alice and his sister, Janis, (Pamela Reed of "Bob Roberts") don't know what to do when the kidnappers start demanding ransom money. There seems to be no place to turn, no one to trust. They don't really trust Thorne, but he seems to be the only one who knows what is going on. Alice and Janis' frustration, fear and anger seem all too real. Peter's life has become a living hell as he is marched along high mountain passes, has little to eat, little shelter and almost no medical care.

The negotiations drag on for week after week. Alice and Janis have to raise all the money on their own. There is little or no help from the U.S. government. The kidnappers are not well organized. Strung out on drugs and living on the run, they can't be counted upon to make rational decisions. Once a revolutionary army, their cause has been perverted by drug profits. The story moves along slowly, although there is a lot of drama and tension. Eventually, we get to some hard-hitting military action. One of the soldiers is seldom-seen David Caruso (formerly of NYPD Blue). Although this isn't a great film, it may be the best thing Caruso's been in since he left the aforementioned TV show.

Although the film has good acting, a bad title, and a fairly good story, it just never seems to click. Crowe and Ryan have good chemistry on the screen (and in real life, according to the rumors), but the romance doesn't seem to have enough heat. Maybe the love scene cut from the movie should have been put back in. There's some action in the movie, but it really isn't an action movie per se. It really isn't a romance, either. It is a kind of low-key drama. The story is interesting enough and there's plenty of suspense, but somehow, it is not very involving. It rates a C.

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