Proof of Life (2000) - one of my favourite films

I've tried to analyse why I like this film so much and I think it's for the following reasons.

It is the story of the kidnapping, negotiation for the release of and subsequent rescue of Peter Bowman, an engineer working in South America. Peter's wife Alice hires Terry Thorne as a negotiator for the release of her husband.

Good Story
The plot has many twists and turns which is one of the things that makes the film so watchable. The pace is nicely handled under the direction of Taylor Hackford but credit has to go to the editors too for their part in telling the story clearly. There are many good performances and the growing relationship between Meg Ryan's character, Alice, and Terry played by Russell Crowe is beautifully acted.

Well Defined Characters
The characters are nicely defined and well cast. There is a problem in some productions which are poorly cast where you see characters that look too much the same. Not so in Proof of Life where each character is identifiable which helps make the plot understandable.
 
Pace
This is where the skills of the editors come in to play as they select the scenes and cut them together to not only tell the story clearly but assist in defining the characters and their parts in the action. This film is well paced and the slower scenes where the character exposition takes place contrast well with the faster action later in the film. The negotiation scenes are well handled and bearing in mind you se only one side of the conversation they are all the better for that.  

This is a very enjoyable film. Definitely for grown ups and it has a combination of action and romance which is unusually well done.