The Proposition
2005 Directed by John Hillcoat
Synopsis
Set in the Australian outback in the 1880s, the movie follows the series of events following the horrific rape and murder of the Hopkins family, allegedly committed by the infamous Burns brothers gang. Captain Morris Stanley captures Charlie Burns and gives him 9 days to kill his older dangerous psychopathic brother, or else they'll hang his younger mentally slow brother on Christmas Day.
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The World Is More Than Enough - 30 Countries In 30 Days Challenge (15 / 30) - Australia
Just how difficult, do you think, is it to create a film that finds the perfect blend of beauty and savagery set against a backdrop that favours the latter far more than the former?
Director John Hillcoat didn't have much of a background to speak of before he directed The Proposition, and even less to suggest that he would have been capable of creating a film of this nature. Not necessarily one of this quality - his earliest film, Ghosts....Of The Civil Dead is widely praised by those who have seen it and is one that has been propelled to somewhere near…
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Film #4 of Misty and Driver's Ultimate Western Adventure AKA Driving Misty Daisy.
"What fresh hell is this?" - Captain Morris Stanley
Let's start off with The Proposition's setting. It's simply one of the most immersive environments ever committed to celluloid. You can practically feel the heat coming out of the screen, you can smell the rotting corpses in the hot sun, you can just about swat the ever-present flies that hang about, waiting for someone to die a brutal death so they can feed. The Outback is arguably better than any other location for any other western, making it all the more ironic when you realise that Australia is the most eastern point on the planet.
And now, the…
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My word, what a beautiful beast.
I am not the biggest fan of the Western genre, but this film has so much to offer it is hard to ignore it. It is a brutal story of redemption, a startling insight in the violent history of Australia, an exploration of how far the bonds of family go and it touches upon the complexity of morality.
All this is wrapped in a perfectly acted film that looks absolutely stunning. It also shows why Guy Pearce should get better roles. The story is told with a poetic depth that really surprised me and made the occasional brutal violence all the more striking.
Truly an amazing film.
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A brutal masterpiece. Incredibly brutal, actually. Everything about this film is magnificent. The acting, most notably from Ray Winstone, who is on fire. Literally, I think he is burning inside, he conveys so much pain with a blank stare. It's amazing. But everyone else is fantastic too. Like any good western, there are lots of smaller, but unforgettable characters John Hurt, David Wenham, Tommy Lewis, so good.
The look of the film is unbelievable. I mean, it is extremely believable... ah, anyway, you know what I mean. I've read that the film has been praised very much for being an accurate portrayal of life at that time in Australia, so there is that too. Anyway, it all looks so awesome.…
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Not only one of the best westerns I've seen. One of the best films I've seen. I watched this when it first came out and thought it was great but after this rewatch I'd easily put this in my top 100 list.
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John Hillcoat directs a wonderously gritty 'Western' set in the Australian outback in an unspecified time, but during the point in history when people from various countries were settling there, and the country as we know it today was being formed.
This is presented in such a dirty, sweaty, fly covered way that you will be totally taken into the time period in which this is set. Each character is facing a hard time, in their own way, and this is in part because the majority of them are struggling to acclimatise to a new home, and a new way of life. The locations and scenery form a character in their own right, adding to the hardships faced by everyone.…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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The World Is More Than Enough - 30 Countries In 30 Days Challenge (15 / 30) - Australia
Just how difficult, do you think, is it to create a film that finds the perfect blend of beauty and savagery set against a backdrop that favours the latter far more than the former?
Director John Hillcoat didn't have much of a background to speak of before he directed The Proposition, and even less to suggest that he would have been capable of creating a film of this nature. Not necessarily one of this quality - his earliest film, Ghosts....Of The Civil Dead is widely praised by those who have seen it and is one that has been propelled to somewhere near…
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Poētisks, bet ļoti brutāls un vardarbīgs stāsts par to, kā Austrālija 19. gadsimtā pamazām kļuva par civilizētu zemi. Filmā nav neviena īsti pozitīva tēla, katrs ir ļauns savā veidā un aiz saviem iemesliem. Pasakaini skaisti saulrieti, bezgalīgi tuksnesīgi klajumi, dīvaini koki, svelme un milzums apkārt spindzošu, kaitinošu mušu. Tomēr dažas nejaušas detaļas kā Vatsones varones neskaitāmās, smalkās, ar rokām apšūtās tērpa podziņas, nīkulīgais, saules izdedzinātais rožu dārzs vai vates sniega pikas ir negaidīti aizkustinošas.
Lai gan Nika Keiva bernišķīgi ļaunās literārās izpausmes mani nekad nav saistījušas, tomēr jāatzīst, ka filmas scenārijam nav ne vainas. -
Bit of a different "western" than most I've seen. Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone and Danny Hutson all put in very nice performances in this John Hillcoat directed film. As with most westerns the pace is slow, perhaps a bit too slow for a film with a running time of only 104 minutes. All in all it has a dark tone over it with a family feud in the midst of the story.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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There was a moment in this film that was so violent that a women in the theatre behind me exclaimed "jesus christ".
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Beatifully filmed in every shot or scene, this violent but lyric western is unexpectedly full of emotion and remarkable moments. A great debut that yet lacks of a very good sense of rhythm, is equally equipped with an outstanding cast and an odd but wonderful score.
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I don't think I had ever heard of this film until I came across this website, and after seeing the ranting and the raving I knew I had to check this out. So, after awhile, I finally did just that.
I think I can say that I'm a decently large fan of Westerns. I like the usual action that is associated with the genre and I like the openness of the time period. Films like Tombstone; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; The Quick and The Dead; Django Unchained; Maverick are all great films and some of my favorites. People have said that this is one of the best Westerns ever made. Well, truthfully, I think all of the…
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The Proposition is an Australian western about a family of outlaws and a lawman who is determined to make the country civil. In a sick scheme proposed by the captain of police (Ray Winstone), Charlie (Guy Pearce) is sent to kill his older brother (Danny Burns), the mastermind of the gang, to save the life of their younger brother.
The film begins strong but loses steam about an hour in, and then it never quite recovers. It is a film in which the actors—all of whom give excellent performances—try to make up for the inadequacies of the script. The best thing about the film is how it shows there are no good guys and no bad guys—they are one in the same.