Tabloid sensationalism has a way of both promoting and destroying the very subject matter that tabloid and gossip columns thrive upon. In the case of Taylor Hackford’s latest action adventure, Proof of Life, the off-screen romance that developed between Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe during the filming of this movie may have drawn "inquiring minds" into the theater, but for many discriminating film-goers, their notoriety was a distraction that lessened the impact and somewhat cheapened the drama.

Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) is a professional negotiator specially trained in kidnap and rescue missions. When an American engineer named Peter Bowman (David Morse) is kidnapped by a fictional Latin American guerrilla group known as the ELT, Terry is flown into Tecala (also a fictional city) in efforts to negotiate the lowest ransom and save the victim. When Bowman’s wife Alice (Meg Ryan) first meets Terry, she is immediately drawn to his honesty and professionalism. She learns through Terry that these kidnappings are more business ventures for the ELT rather than a brutal act of political violence. Though Peter is in Tecala to build a dam to help the local farmers, the ELT guerrillas believe him to be backed by a prestigious American oil company. Ironically enough, shady corporate paper work ends up pulling the plug on Terry’s rescue mission just when Alice’s hopes are raised. However, Terry’s brief encounter with Alice has raised Terry’s hopes as well and he quickly returns to Tecala on a personal mission. Terry will independently (and free of charge) negotiate for Peter’s release and in return he will develop a secret, forbidden love for his wife Alice.

Proof of Life opens with Terry dodging bullets and leaping onto a helicopter while rescuing a victim in Chechnya. However, this opening sequence builds false hopes for viewers who were anticipating Crowe once again strutting his magnetic charm and steadily controlled bravado while surrounded by danger and mayhem. We get a spectacular rescue attempt near the end of the film, but for my taste it was too long of a wait in a movie that promotes itself as an action-adventure thriller! Though there are plenty of intense moments in this movie, they are restricted to Crowe verbally negotiating with the guerrillas and masterminding strategies in a potentially deadly mind game. Suspense and tension is built through edits that depict Terry and Alice anxiously recording their calls with the guerrillas while we catch glimpses of scared Peter injured and held captive in the mountains. Though scenes of Peter growing increasingly weak and to some extent wild during his captivity are compelling to watch, his experience is in many ways diminished by the relationship that develops between Alice and Terry. Their initial attraction is quite obvious (not to mention pre-advertised through tabloids) but the bond that forms between them during their struggle gets too much screen time, in my view, without any significant developments. Moreover, Alice is too angry (at the situation, at Peter and at herself) to seem all that interested in having an affair with Terry, who is way too stoic and emotionally repressed to display any kind of real feelings for her.

As expected, Crowe’s portrayal of Terry is convincing and draws the viewer closer to the overall story. Ryan is well cast as his love interest but I’m starting to think that she plays all her dramatic roles based on the same criteria -- the leading lady must be smart and outspoken while maintaining her "cute side" at all times. If you’re not already too bored with their real-life, tabloid romance, you may want to give this *** movie a try.

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