Review #1,132: 'The Proposition' (2005)

Visceral, unrelenting and poetic, John Hillcoat's masterful and incredibly underrated western filters the work of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah through the distinctive bleakness of the Australian outback in the 1880s. It's a yellow-tinged place, drenched in sweat, stench and flies, where white men are still trying to 'civilise' the wild lands and rid it off the Aboriginal people, and outlaws roam the plains causing destruction wherever they go. Written by musician Nick Cave, The Proposition tells a story of race, class, justice and family in a country as unforgiving and harsh as the men who inhabit it.

Following the bloody massacre of the Hopkins family, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), a copper given the task of bringing law and order to the land, corners outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce), a member of the notorious Burns gang. With Charlie is his younger, simple-minded brother Mikey (Richard Wilson), but neither of the men are who Stanley is really searching for. The big prize is the oldest brother Arthur (Danny Huston), a beast of a man with a reputation so fierce that the natives have dubbed the 'Dog Man'. So Stanley makes Charlie a proposition: find and kill his older brother in exchange for a pardon, or Mikey gets hanged on Christmas Day.

This all occurs in the opening scene, and what follows is a tale of two men questioning their own brand of honour, and a journey into the heart of a country where law and order simply don't apply. It soon becomes clear why Stanley has taken to such desperate measures to rid the world of Arthur Burns: he wants to make the land safe for his wife Martha (Emily Watson), who was also friends with the butchered Hopkins clan. Charlie rides off into the wilderness, where hostilities await him at every turns, be it wild Aborigines, bounty hunter Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), or the blistering heat, relentless dust clouds and swarms of flies that come with the territory. For long periods, not much happens at all, but the score by Cave and Warren Ellis injects a melancholic and haunting atmosphere into these quieter moments.

It's a delicate balance between beauty and horror, and the film does not flinch when it comes to violence. From the opening montage of grisly photographs to the exploding head that will undoubtedly catch you off guard, Cave is eager to establish that this is a world built upon violence and atrocity. The Burns gang seem evil for evil's sake; a product of their environment (Hurt's character calls it a 'godforsaken hole'), and The Proposition is one of a few Australian films to journey into the country's heart of darkness, making it a good companion piece to Wake in Fright (1971). The cast are outstanding, in particular Winstone, who gives Stanley a much-needed humanity, and Pearce, who say little but emotes real pain behind those red eyes and rotting teeth. It may be too much to stomach for some people and too slow for others, but there's also a poetic beauty to savour for those who can stomach the brutality.


Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Danny Huston, Emily Watson, David Wenham, John Hurt
Country: Australia/UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie