THE PROPOSITION (2005)

DIRECTOR: John Hillcoat
STARRING: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone

My deep love and admiration for Nick Cave (of Bad Seeds notoriety) brought me to the discovery of this film. Aside from being a brilliant musician Mr. Cave also has tried his hand at the writing of screenplays and film scores. The Proposition is the result of his efforts, and an impressive one at that.

The Proposition is a western set in the desolate outback of Australia, sometime during the 1880’s. The Burns brothers are at the centre of the story: Charlie (Pearce), Arthur, and the young Mikey, the three of whom are wanted for the murder of the Hopkins family, including the rape of the pregnant wife. The police soon catch up with Charlie and Mikey, but are left alive when police captain Stanley (Winstone) proposes Charlie a deal: kill his violent older brother (who was likely the brains behind the Hopkins’ attack) and he and Mikey can go free. Charlie reluctantly accepts and enters the desert in search of his brother, all the while trying to deal with the guilt and the consequences of the life and his brothers have led.

I’m no fan of westerns, but perhaps I was just never into the American cowboy mystique. The Proposition is entirely different and yet probably truer to the genre than anything I’ve seen: these men are violent creatures trying to survive in a time of hardship, and surviving the land alone is a tough enough feat. You can feel the sand, the sweat, the blood, and everything the Aussie outback is made of — Mr. Cave does nothing to romanticize the environment, nor does he shy away from the reality of it. In the world that the audience is presented, violence is an ugly thing, yet still innate and inescapable.

As far as performances go, each actor seems to portray their character to perfection: Guy Pearce, who you may recognize from Memento or LA Confidential, is very much at the centre as a man whose guilt and violent capabilities remains questionable. As Captain Stanley, Ray Winstone provides the film some compassion and humanity, trying to spare his delicate wife (played beautifully by Emily Watson) the harsh realities of life, claiming that he will “civilize this land.”

The bottom line: this was a brilliant film. As in my case, you don’t have to be a western fan to enjoy it, but if you are then you’ll certainly appreciate the grittiness and honesty Mr. Cave provides to the genre. Not necessarily for the weak-stomached, but worth the effort in the end.

FINAL GRADE: A-