Proof of Life (2000)
Directed by Taylor Hackford
When Peter Bowman, an American engineer working in a South American country, is captured by anti-government forces, the rebels learn his identity and demand $5 million for his safe return. However, his US employer is on the verge of insolvency and will not provide the ransom. Peter's wife Alice is forced to deal with the matter on her own and she retains the services of freelance professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne.
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7 films that influenced Proof of Life
What critics say influenced Proof of Life
If this were "Casablanca," he'd be the Paul Henreid character the earnest, politically committed chump who doesn't have a clue what's really going on with his wife and that dashing loner.
Gilroy's screenplay, while steeped in the unknown world of K&R, has the feel of a re-creation of that greatest of American films, "Casablanca."
What follows are guerilla war sequences that are brilliantly and convincingly staged by the director, Taylor Hackford ("The Devil's Advocate", 1997; "When We Were Kings", 1996), who went to well-deserved pains to keep all the relationships clear and maximized.
Hackford, having directed movies like An Officer And A Gentleman, Dolores Claiborne, and The Devil's Advocate , turns out another richly textured film, gripping, suspenseful, and brimming with good performances not only by Crowe, but by Meg Ryan, David Morse, and David Caruso, among others.
Director Taylor Hackford, responsible for overrated crowd-pleasers like An Officer and a Gentleman and Devil's Advocate as well as underrated dramas like Dolores Claiborne and Everybody's All-American, does a creditable job of infusing a talky script with thrills until the denouement.
Taylor Hackford's new drama, "Proof of Life," bears more than a passing resemblance to 1999's Harrison Ford-Kristen Scott-Thomas box-office dud, "Random Hearts."
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Director Taylor Hackford, responsible for overrated crowd-pleasers like An Officer and a Gentleman and Devil's Advocate as well as underrated dramas like Dolores Claiborne and Everybody's All-American, does a creditable job of infusing a talky script with thrills until the denouement.
Anthony Heald, as oil company honcho Ted Fellner, brings the same oily sleaziness to his character as he gave to his doomed doctor in "The Silence of the Lambs."
Hackford, having directed movies like An Officer And A Gentleman, Dolores Claiborne, and The Devil's Advocate , turns out another richly textured film, gripping, suspenseful, and brimming with good performances not only by Crowe, but by Meg Ryan, David Morse, and David Caruso, among others.
Director Taylor Hackford, responsible for overrated crowd-pleasers like An Officer and a Gentleman and Devil's Advocate as well as underrated dramas like Dolores Claiborne and Everybody's All-American, does a creditable job of infusing a talky script with thrills until the denouement.