This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Banks Cornett’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
The Connection Between Violence and Dirt/Filth in 'The Proposition'
Violence is used as a motivator in 'The Proposition' and is on display at a near constant rate. From start to finish, violence acts as the primary method of both justice and revenge. Every character partakes in some form of violence or revenge, even the innocent and careful Martha is involved in getting Mike Burns flogged so horrifically that he later dies from his wounds. Crowds casually watch a kid get flogged in the street, a man takes his children to see a hanging man.
The setting of 'The Proposition' is the Australian outback. Which appears to have a life of its own in the movie. Almost everyone in the movie is covered in filth with two exceptions that I noticed, Martha and Fletcher. They don't remain filth-free for long though. Martha can't stand the sight of Mike getting flogged and collapses into the dirt, the first time in the movie she wouldn't be depicted as completely clean. (She later takes a bath and seems to regret her actions.) The second person who appears clean is Fletcher, who also gets dirtied after the man flogging Mike can't bear to continue and shoves the whip into Fletcher's hands. Stanley also appears clean as he gets ready for Christmas dinner, only to be brutally attacked by Arthur Burns just moments later.
The conclusion of the movie is a genuinely horrifying moment. It begins with the Burns brothers raiding the police station to free Mike, but once he's freed Arthur rides off to take revenge on Stanley for imprisoning his brother. Once they arrive they brutalize both Stanley and Martha, until Charlie arrives and kills Arthur to stop the horror. By the end of the movie, violence has infected everyone and no one remains clean, Even Martha's garden is covered in blood.
Violence is used as a tool in the Proposition, and in the end all of the main characters who abused it end up dead or wounded or without family. There are no winners at the end of the movie, but at least Arthur is dead. Mike's death was completely avoidable and horrible to watch. The constant use of gore and explosive gun shots will shake the viewer to the core. Overall this movie was a great watch and showed how unrestrained violence doesn't just leave one person wounded. It showed that one act of violence can spiral into dozens more, and the cost of seeking revenge.