Proof of Life

When you go to see a drama about an American engineer being held by a rebel army somewhere in the Andes, typically you expect only one thing: shallow yet engrossing action, typically consisting of explosions and endless gunfire. However, Taylor Hackford, director of the new film "Proof of Life," has decided to take an opposite tack and give us shallow yet engrossing emotions, mostly from stars Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan and David Morse. Despite his name, Hackford is no hack, and he does everything he wants to do in "Proof of Life" with both economy and style. Ultimately, however, the movie's tissue-thinness makes it engaging but unmemorable.

The film takes place in "Tecala," a fictional South American nation played by Ecuador. Ecuador was wise not to play itself, as only white people are able to actually accomplish anything good in "Proof of Life." One of these white people is Peter Bowman (Morse), who has come to build an anti-flooding dam as a goodwill project for QuadCarbon, which hopes to complete and open a pipeline to "Tecala"'s extensive oil resources, so the revenues can enrich the government and QuadCarbon. (This film has a way of making one cynical.)

Opposing anything the government does is the Liberation Army of Tecala, which used to be Marxist but is now in it only for the dough. They kidnap Bowman and hold him for ransom, which understandably upsets Bowman's wife Alice (Ryan). QuadCarbon, meanwhile, has troubles of its own and can offer no help. Finally, professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne (Crowe) takes the rare step of freelancing to help Alice. Is Thorne acting merely out of boundless sympathy for the afflicted? Probably not, since he displays remarkably little emotional affect elsewhere. So does he like Alice? Two guesses.

The problem isn't that anyone does a bad job here. Crowe speaks softly and carries his competence without flaunting it; his very quietness makes him magnetic, and his habit here of tilting his face slightly downward as he talks makes him seem both more respectful and intimidating. His hostage negotiations are a treat, as he commands authority and dismisses lethal-sounding BS with nothing more than a slight rise in his voice's volume or a brief, scornful glance. He resists the temptation to make Thorne have some sort of gigantic emotional gush until the very end of the film; Crowe instead shows his cracking reserve with slight twitches, significant questions, momentary slackenings in facial resolve. He's wonderful to watch.

Though Ryan is not as distinctive, her performance is nonetheless a nice break from her Ephron-directed romantic comedies, as she manages to get some gravitas into her character's essentially flaky but devoted personality. Morse, too, does a good job portraying a frustrated but loving husband.

Hackford's direction has the all-too-often scorned virtue of restraint. He never insists, merely suggests, and trusts us to get the point. For example, Hackford effectively uses only the camera to contrast the overbearing physical presence of the blustery Tecalan security expert Alice originally hires with Thorne's self-effacing but self-assured presence. Hackford has an eye for detail that serves him well, as when he momentarily lingers on a dispassionate face in the crowd or on a slightly insane Liberation Army guard. When "Proof of Life" turns into an action film, Hackford directs with logic and efficiency while still providing plenty of visceral thrills. And he always has a way with the violent detail that commands your attention, and with the random violence that is such a fact of "Tecalan" life.

"Proof of Life" is a well-acted, well-made film. It is also instantly forgettable; what you remember from it are certain moments of exceptional craft, rather than satisfying sweeps of emotion or even tiny pindrops of pathos. You feel perfect license to mock it when it's over. And that's because the emotional thrills that this film provides - like Crowe's quiet defiance, Ryan's tearful exhaustion, Morse's unbowed determination - eventually feel shallow and predictable. They don't engage your deeper emotional centers any more than bullets and bombs do in other hostage films. There's a feeling that everything is clicking smartly yet predictably into place in "Proof of Life," rather than proceeding in the messy but moving way that life does. We expect more from a film that seems determined to explore the emotional costs of kidnapping, ransom and violence, and we don't get it.

It's not what's there that makes "Proof of Life" disappointing; it's quite an enjoyable film, for what it is. It's just that there was the palpable potential for so much more.

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