The Proposition

Some incredible cinematography... some mediocre acting, a philosophical/ethical storyline.. but I wonder who gave this a 3 and then probably gave Rio Bravo like a 9 or something... sure, this is worthy of some more solidly snotty introspection than I'm probably capable of giving, but going down that road of "western" cinema has led me fairly quickly to this... outside of the cannon of American westerns and Spaghetti westerns.. and the odd Japanese samurai flick.. I thought this was done pretty well.. I laughed at some scenes, I thought of it was trope and I did think there were some better options for the end scenes.. but, all in all, 4 point whatever IMDB?? I mean.. reall?? Look at yourselves... 6.5 for me.. rounded up to 7 just to anger some of you.

I know that any kind of story that seems more like a romance novel come to life is not going to be an Oscar winner. But sometimes a girl (or boy) gets in the mood for a cinematic box of chocolates. The Proposition would have fit this bill just fine if it weren't for two glaring mistakes.

1. Theresa Russell. Boy oh boy, what a terrible casting mistake. She's good in other roles that are more intense, but in this one her dramatic presence was overexaggerated. She delivered her lines like a drag queen > dramatic eyebrow lifts and over-emphatic one liners. Yuck!

2. The sex scene. It was too much lust. Lust is great, it's realistic...but only in the right vehicle. This scene would have been great in an independent or artsy film...but in a kinder, fluffier film like Proposition: less would have been so much more.

The best part of this movie was Patrick Bergen. Oh well, there's always Lifetime. LOL

This is truly diabolical, a hideous embarrassment, shame on all involved. The performances are rigid, the direction stagey and wooden, the scenery wasted, the action risible, the sexual chemistry non-existant. This is almost so bad it's funny, but definitely not worth the time it takes, which is only 90 minutes, but seems like eternity.

Those with ultra-high expectations will of course be disappointed (some crazily over-reactive reviews on this page), but it's basically what you'd expect it to be - a fairly typical, historical/action TV movie made in the late 1990s.

The good sides include the novelty value of a Western-style cattle drive story set in Napoleonic-era Wales; the costumes, location and photography all look good too. There is also some pleasure to be had, albeit a guilty pleasure, in the trashy/camp acting and general feel of it all. Theresa Russell's breathy pouting and eyebrow dynamics reminded me of, say, an episode of Dynasty, with an accent that is sometimes Welsh but mostly an odd hybrid of a leprechaun and Groundskeeper Willie. The plot is the usual stuff - she has a 'quarrelsome-but-lustful' dynamic with her tough-guy ramrod while his brother (the Sheriff) is mad with unrequited love for her, prompting further drama.

It's a bit formulaic and doesn't really engage you emotionally but it flows well enough, as an adventure if nothing else. The fight scenes certainly supply tension. So if light escapism into worlds of historical-action-drama is your thing, then you could do a lot worse than this. Not amazing sure, but watchable.

I felt that the Proposition was a good period film!

It had a good story line and kept my attention the whole way through!

Overall it is a good film that it worth renting out!