The Proposition

Set on an arid desert and sun-baked continent, during the late 1800's British settlement days, Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, one of three brothers that make up the notorious criminal Arthur Burns…

At the opening credits Charlie and his younger brother the 14-year-old Mikey are captured after a bloody shoot out with regional Captain Stanley in the aftermath of a brutal rape and murder… The decent captain is after their eldest brother Arthur described as 'the beast,' and is prepared to do just about anything to get him...

Thus Stanley lays out Charlie an unholy bargain: While Mikey stays in his custody, in jail, Charlie must find, kill or return Arthur or his teenaged brother will be hung on Christmas Day… He has nine days to do so…

Charlie eventually finds his brother but is left with one choice… He must decide if he can live with his decision to either kill Arthur or let Mikey be executed…

John Hillcoat's characters not only strike us with their emotions of grief and pain, or their passion of hate but they are presented in their real states that sway down hopelessness, denial, pity and firm belief…

Pearce combines a touch of kindness to Charlie's character, but it's a touch that keeps out of the way any love… It's, in essence, only enough to add a decisive influence on his personality that makes him unpredictable…

Danny Huston is magnificent as Arthur Burns… His deeply intelligence and totally brutal character is captured in a very good sense…

Richard Wilson, Mikey is given little to do beyond being frightened and horrorized…

Winstone is amazing in the role of the army officer who wants to civilize the place… We feel how his nerves are about to break… He imprisons his wife Martha for safety and protection caring at the same time about her delicate sensibilities…

Emily Watson is absolutely stunning as the fragile woman whose gentleness captures convincingly the character of Emily, the innocent wife who cares about her husband, her house and her perfect "garden" but her way of life is so far away from the reality of her surroundings…

John Hurt gives an interesting performance as the deranged bounty hunter…

"The Proposition" is too violent, too dirty, too bloody, and too barbaric to be forgotten so easily

Nick Cave's essay in the true and tried Western format, shows how a harsh land (Colonial Australia) brutalizes the men who try and conquer it. Yet this tale has passages of lyricism that counterpoint the sudden moments of savagery. It is a very gritty often grisly picture of 19th Century Australia, warts and all, right down to swarms of blowflies. Perhaps the sadistic violence gets a bit over the top especially towards the end, but thanks to a fine cast, crisp direction, and the scorched cinematography it generally works. A standout performance in a minor role by John Hurt rather steals the show, while Ray Winstone and Emily Watson are particularly sensitive together. One suspects the harsh conditions are somewhat overstated for dramatic purposes, though the story is supposedly based on fact. Tombstone Territory never looked as unpleasant as this. It is certainly one of the most interesting period dramas made in Australia.

Just superb - wonderful, austere direction that gets the best from a great cast and some extraordinary landscapes. A tight, disciplined script from Nick Cave that's testament to how his writing continues to reach new levels - not to mention his collaboration with Warren Ellis on the beautifully uneasy score.

There's a fantastic blend of European and Australian sensibilities here that makes this the least clichéd film to come out of this country for 20-odd years - and if it doesn't do well, it'll be because an increasingly soft and gutless nation is afraid to venture out of their frappuccino and mortgage comfort zone.

This is powerful, worthy art.

Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) is the new lawman of the territory and he's determined to civilize the brutal wasteland. A band of outlaws comprised of three brothers and a few others stand in his way. Yet two of the brothers want out after their sibling leader commits a crime in one of his raids. The two are apprehended by Capt. Stanley, who offers a proposition to the older of the two (Guy Pearce): Find and assassinate the leader and both will go free.

"The Proposition" (2005) is a Western that takes place in Australia, yet it's far from a typical Western. The filmmaking, cinematography, actors, locations, soundtrack and editing are top-of-the-line with a surreal, haunting edge. As my title blurb suggests, there are similarities to "Heart of Darkness" and the original "Apocalypse Now," although it fails to achieve the greatness of the latter.

The story plays out in a realistic manner with long stretches of drama and bleak landscapes interspersed with flashes of extreme violence. Ray Winstone and Guy Pearce are great as the two main protagonists. Capt. Stanley understandably wants to rid the land of the brute outlaws, whereas Charlie seeks redemption for himself and his little brother.

Danny Huston is captivating as the focal point and villain, Arthur Burns. Yet he's not a villain in the cliched sense and he's not one-dimensional. He loves the beauty of God's creation, he loves the art of language and he's a mystic of sorts, but he clearly crossed the line at some point in his outlaw endeavors and now must be wiped off the face of the planet. Will Charlie do it?

My only criticism is that the film seems too short at 1 hour, 44 minutes. It needed more time for details and character development. As it is, we sort of have to guess the details, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just wish the film would have gone the route of "Apocalypse Now" and given us more definition and development.

At the end of the day, this is one of those films that gets better with repeat viewings, as long as you like the approach of films like "Apocalypse Now," just way shorter (too short). I would love to see a Director's Cut that adds about 20-45 minutes.

It was shot in Winton, Queensland, which is in the northeast Outback of Australia.

GRADE: B+

Captain Stanley captures two notorious outlaw brothers Charlie and Mickey Burns . He makes a proposal to Charlie . If Charlie goes and kills the leader of their gang Arthur Burns and brings his body back they will be given an amnesty . If not Mickey will be hung on Christmas day which is nine days away

You always know what you're going to get with a film by Australian director John Hillcoat namely strong memorable drama that's best viewed with a ready supply of anti-depressants . You also know what you're not going to get , laughs , mirth and a strong narrative drive . Certainly both GHOSTS OF THE CIVIL DEAD and THE ROAD suffered slightly from a lack of a strong narrative drive and in this British produced pseudo Western set in 19th Century Australia there's also a sign of this flaw from the director

The premise is one that grabs you and leads you to ask what you would do in that situation but as soon as Charlie leaves town on his quest the story meanders slightly as we're shown lots of panoramas of the Australian outback with a vague mystical air which will remind you of Australian cinema of the 1970s where the landscapes were the stars of the movie . One also gets the feeling in the first third that you're might be watching an Aussie version of APOCALYPSE NOW where a man with a mission involving extreme prejudice finds his target building an empire amongst the natives

This doesn't happen thankfully and after a slightly unfocused first 40 minutes the story gets back on track with characterisation coming to the fore . THE PROPOSITION is much more character driven than the premise promises . There is a slight cop out in that Mickey is the poor unintelligent younger brother who has merely tagged along with the gang through family peer pressure and while Arthur isn't portrayed by Danny Huston as a stock psychotic villain with staring eyes and manic laugh his actions do more than enough to convince the audience that this rabid criminal dog needs to be put out of his misery . The characterisation between the good younger brother and the violent bad older brother could been written and developed as a bit more grey but there again it might have made it more difficult to cheer on Charlie the middle brother played by Guy Pearce

The cast are excellent and special mention goes to Ray Winstone who is a national institution in Britain and watching him here you're aware of how underrated he is and gives a depth to Captain Stanley a man tormented by trying to uphold the law without giving in to rough justice from the locals . It's perhaps difficult to believe a rough working class bloke would be married to Emily Watson's rather middle class Martha but Watson does manage to project an innocence that seems out of place but that's undoubtedly the point . One character that did puzzle me was Jellon Lamb . John Hurt of course steals the show every scene he appears in but is there any point to the character except to spout Darwin ? it's a slightly confused and unnecessary character

And THE PROPOSITION is a slightly confused film that stops it from attaining true classic status . It's a bleak nihilistic character study from John Hillcoat and contains all the strengths and weaknesses from the director's prior and future work . That said it's much better than most of the films the UK Film Council insist on wasting their money on from the same period