Proof of Life

PROOF OF LIFE begins with its hero, Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) sitting in a conference room giving a dry recital of his most recent success, the official report belied by scenes of what really happened, a shoot-out and perilous rescue by helicopter. Then we see Alice and Peter Bowman (Meg Ryan and David Morse), a loving but discontented couple living in South America, where Peter is overseeing construction of a dam. Alice is frustrated and unhappy, mourning a miscarriage. Peter is also frustrated, because none of his equipment has arrived, and he feels he can't make Alice happy. Then Peter is kidnapped, and Terry arrives to handle the negotiations -- until it turns out that Peter's company has not paid its insurance premiums, and Terry's firm orders him home. Terry leaves, but then returns, out of a sense of honor or because he is drawn to Alice, or both. The story shifts back and forth from Terry's attempts to get the kidnappers to agree to a ransom amount, to Peter, being held in the mountains. Then, Terry learns that he must go in commando-style to rescue Peter.