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Review #140 of 365
Film: The Proposition (2006) [R] 104 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Where Viewed: Landmark Lagoon Cinema, Minneapolis, MN
When 1st Seen: 1 June 2006
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: Zachary Jon F. of Chicago, IL
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
If you ever long for the days of the wild west when life was simpler and there was 'real' and speedy justice for the outlaws, permit me to introduce you to the 1880s Australian outback and the film The Proposition (2006) which makes the USA westerns look a bit like Saturday morning cartoons. Director John Hillcoat has taken Nick Cave's script to Winton, Queensland, Australia and shot a visually stunning film with breathtaking sunsets and stark landscapes, grimy and grisly hardened characters, and gruesome, gory, and violent gun battles. The film begins, in fact, with an all out lead projectile weapon onslaught of the home of two brothers—Charlie (Guy Pearce) and Mikey (Richard Wilson) Burns—both members of an outlaw family gang that was allegedly responsible for one of the most brutal mass murders in the history of the territory. The result of the gun battle is that Mikey is locked up in prison in exchange for a proposition made by the territorial Marshall Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone). His proposition is simple. Charlie is to track down and kill his brother Arthur (Danny Huston)--the ring-leader of the gang; and, in exchange, Mikey will be allowed to live after Christmas. So, in effect the lives of both of his brothers are in his hands. Either way, one has to die so that the other might live. Not for the squeamish, Mr. Hillcoat doesn't hold back in filming some brutally violent scenes. And, for some, this will be a bit more than they can take. Everything from a person's head exploding to brutal hackings and slayings of both civilians and police officers. In the end, I didn't feel the movie would have carried less importance had these been clipped—perhaps they were a little needlessly graphic. Still, this may have been the life and times in the 1880s Australian outback.
" If you ever long for the days of the wild west when life was simpler and there was 'real' and speedy justice for the outlaws, permit me to introduce you to the 1880s Australian outback and the film The Proposition (2006) which makes the USA westerns look a bit like Saturday morning cartoons. "
The story is as poetic as it is simple for the more we get to know Arthur, we see that while being a cold-blooded killer, he holds a deep sense of romanticism for true beauty as he makes a point of watching the sun set each day. Moreover, he has a tremendous loyalty to his family members—which, in the end, will be his fatal flaw. Charlie's motivations also may be more complex than the urge to take care of his little brother. Layered into the story of the Burns gang is the story of the Captain's struggles to bring peace, law, and order to a previously untamed region. He works as the long arm of the law most of the time, but it is he alone that must weigh the validity of circumstances and render judgments. That is until he decides to offer the proposition, and his superior comes calling wanting to know why he let Charlie escape and why Mikey hadn't been hung in the town square? From this we see the many dimensions of his character.
If you can get past the blood and gore, The Proposition has some real things to offer. New setting, great multi-faceted characters, and an interesting story all contributed to making this film well worth a look.
If you can get past the blood and gore, The Proposition has some real things to offer. New setting, great multi-faceted characters, and an interesting story all contributed to making this film well worth a look.
Review-lite [150-word cap]
The Proposition (2006) is a richly poetic film set in the 1880s in Queensland , Austrailia. The story focuses on one lawman's crusade to rid the world of the Burns Family outlaws by offering a deal to a captured brother Charlie (Guy Pearce), kill your older brother or your younger brother won't live past Christmas. Layered into the story of the Burns gang is the story of a lawman's, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), struggles to bring peace and order to a previously untamed region. If you can get past the blood and gore, The Proposition has some real things to offer. New setting, great multi-faceted characters, and an interesting story all contributed to making this film well worth a look.
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The Proposition [DVD](2005) DVD
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