The Proposition
Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 13, 2006
Release Date: September 19, 2006
Set in the lawless frontier of colonial Australia, The Proposition follows Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) as a “former” outlaw who must kill his ruthless older brother to save his younger and hapless brother Mikey who will hang on Christmas day if Charlie can’t get the job done.
As Charlie searches for and finds his brother, he crosses a bounty hunter and ‘rebel’ aboriginals who are adept and accurate with their spears. A secondary story follows the life of Captain Stanley, the man who orchestrated the brothers against one another. His men, semi-corrupt and racist police “coppers” seek to undermine him and also set out to massacre a group of aboriginals.
A large part of the back story of this film revolves around the racist view of aboriginals at the time, at one point a character laughs aloud at Darwin’s The Origin of Species by Natural Selection because it says that not only are aboriginals the same as white men, but that they have a common descendant of a monkey.
The film is often described as grisly and violent. There have been worse. There are a few brief flares of violence and two moments are particularly graphic, although combined only take up about 5 seconds of screen time. Most of the violence happens off screen, but a good sound mix makes it effective none-the-less.
The acting is good, especially from Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone (Captain Stanley). The film ultimately leads to a series of betrayals and semi-shifts of allegiance as the true chaotic nature of the Australian west is revealed. The film was well directed in the vying of a classic western and Nick Cave’s script provides a slow burning tension, good character development, and a look inside a tumultuous time in a rough place.
Perhaps the most poignant lesson comes when comparing the words of the racist bounty hunter versus the violence of the film. The bounty hunter, played well by the always entertaining John Hurt, is found of saying “We are white men, sir, we are white men,” and further explaining that white men are above animals and aboriginals and as such should do no violence to each other. Where in the end, it is white men who perpetrate the most foul acts against each other.
The Upside: A slow burn that keeps leading you on to something big and bad and tosses a few curve balls at you.
The Downside: A bit nihilistic, does not live up to the hype. Some may find it boring if not interested in the subject matter.
On the Side: Written by singer/songwriter Nick Cave and shot on location in Australia. Often mis-credited as Nick Cave’s first screenplay, though he co-wrote Ghosts…of the Civil Dead in 1988.
Final Crade: B+
Read more articles by Robert Fure
