Russell Crowe has left his toga back in Greece where it belongs, and moved to a mythical South American community where he doesn't need one, as he and Meg Ryan face terrorist rebels in "Proof of Life." A toga simply wouldn't cut it.
Alice ( Ryan) is the wife of American engineer Peter Bowman (David Morse) who has been captured by anti-American forces in Tecala, the mythical community, where he was supervising the building of a dam so his company's oil pipeline can go traverse the Andes.
His U.S. employer is on the verge of bankruptcy and won't provide the ransom, so Alice takes the matter into her own hands and hires a freelance hostage negotiator, Terry Thorne. Yes, the reconstituted gladiator Crowe.
Crowe's is said to give a "complex and subtle performance." In fact, according to several critics, he outshines his ladylove Ryan, (with whom he is having a high profile romp in "real life.") One critic said, "Crowe's scenes with Ryan are so strong, he almost pushes her off the screen."
The relationship between the two slowly grows more intense as they deal with his past marriage, her current one, assorted mercenaries, unfriendly rebels and what's called a "bold rescue operation."
David Caruso, (remember TV's NYPD Blue and the movie "Jade?"), even pops up as a mercenary "with more dimensions than the average Rambo." One reviewer went so far as to say he almost made up for "Jade," a perfectly awful movie.
Gird yourself: it's two hours and 15 minutes long. It is directed by Taylor Hackford and written by Tony Gilroy. It's rated R for violence, language and some drug material.
It starts Thursday at Sunny Isle Theaters.
