How entertaining? ★★★★★
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 9 March 2006
This a movie review of THE PROPOSITION. |
“Love. Love is the key. Love and family. For what are night and day, the sun, the moon, the stars without love, and those you love around you? What could be more hollow than to die alone, unloved?” Arthur Burns (Danny Huston)
There is a resurgence of the Western, hurrah! Kevin Costner’s OPEN RANGE, Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and Brad Pitt’s THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD are all well received or hotly anticipated. It seemed that after Clint Eastwood’s 1992 masterpiece UNFORGIVEN the most elegant of genres, the Western, was effectively at a standstill. How do you add to the canon when the last word seems to have been said by the epitome himself? UNFORGIVEN was a knowing mythic pastiche that turned cliché on its head with the return from retirement of a gunslinger at the dying days of the wild West. It also had probably one of the best lines in film, “I'm Will Munny and I've killed most everything that walks or crawls; and now I'm here to kill you Little Bill for what you done to Ned.”
There is a resurgence of the Western, hurrah! Kevin Costner’s OPEN RANGE, Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and Brad Pitt’s THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD are all well received or hotly anticipated. It seemed that after Clint Eastwood’s 1992 masterpiece UNFORGIVEN the most elegant of genres, the Western, was effectively at a standstill. How do you add to the canon when the last word seems to have been said by the epitome himself? UNFORGIVEN was a knowing mythic pastiche that turned cliché on its head with the return from retirement of a gunslinger at the dying days of the wild West. It also had probably one of the best lines in film, “I'm Will Munny and I've killed most everything that walks or crawls; and now I'm here to kill you Little Bill for what you done to Ned.”
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Following that were sporadic movies with the feeling that ideas had run out – WYATT EARP, TOMBSTONE, MAVERICK, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, THE NEWTON BOYS, WILD WILD WEST, SHANGHAI NOON, AMERICAN OUTLAWS, BLUEBERRY, and THE MISSING. They were either rehashes or modern stories put in the familiar setting. There was also the reverse where the genre’s themes were being put into a modern era – ROAD TO PERDITION, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS, LAST MAN STANDING and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE.
Now out of apparently nowhere has come THE PROPOSITION. It is written and scored by rock frontman Nick Cave, and stars a plethora of international character actors. This is arguably the first ever Australian Western. How could one not have already been made?
Cave has collaborated with director Hillcoat who made some of his music videos and the little seen prison drama GHOSTS…OF THE CIVIL DEAD. Together they have fashioned a visceral, powerful film. The writer-musician enjoys movies that set up the initial plot quickly and then let the proceedings unfold. This is born out as the titular proposition is revealed within the first ten minutes.
It is the 1880s and part of an outlaw gang has been captured by Winstone’s ex-pat policeman Captain Stanley, but the leader (Huston’s Arthur Burns) and mastermind is still at large and is proving to be unnervingly elusive (even the Aboriginal trackers working for the authorities are unable/unwilling to enter the part of the mountains where he holds up). Burns is also the brother of two of the prisoners Mike (Richard Wilson) and Charlie (Pearce). The gang has committed a heinous act and Stanley wants Arthur Burns brought to justice at any cost. He thus offers Charlie a choice – find and kill Arthur or his younger brother will hang for both their crimes. What then unravels is an ultra-violent look at a West no one has seen on celluloid before – a deconstruction of a country where everyone but the aboriginals does not belong. English, Irish and second generation Australians are systematically wiping out the native population while turning on themselves in dislocated lawless frustration.
Cave claims to have finished the script in a remarkably short three weeks, and the expeditious speed has not in any way diminished the quality of the writing. The plot may be relatively straightforward but the characters are painted with subtle brushstrokes and brought to life by the mesmerizing ensemble. The film also has comments to make on imperialism, racism, the rule of law, responsibility, justice and family. Much of it is conveyed through violence heaped by or on every strata of society. Cave fans will enjoy his moody score with Bad Seeds’ guitarist Warren Ellis.
There is no weak link in the cast. Cave wanted Pearce for the lead as Charlie Burns speaks little but has to convey much. Pearce gives another performance of moral ambiguity and purpose (traits which run through the film) that stands alongside his work in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, RAVENOUS and MEMENTO. Winstone may confound certain critics’ expectations who feel he is limited to cockney hard-men. As Stanley he tries to shield the wife, Martha (Watson), he adores from the harsh realities of Australian life but as the proposition begins to crumble around him he is unable to protect her. Stanley has married up, to an intelligent gentile woman and he struggles to act her equal. His accent fluctuates as a result, though whether that is intentional on Winstone’s part is unclear. Either way it works. He states that he wants to civilize Australia but that could equally apply to himself. There may be only two speaking parts for women but their presence looms large. Watson is her usual saucer-eyed luminescence and quietly conveys her frustrations.
Huston, cast against his more gentle roles in IVANS XTC., THE AVIATOR and THE CONSTANT GARDINER, is a revelation as a cerebral psychopath that is both well educated and cultured. His thoughtful metronomic speaking style is in sharp contrast to his bursts of brutal violence. Scarily intuitive he can seem to see things almost before they happen. Part of the inevitable tragedy is this foresight.
The film owes a huge debt to director Hillcoat, an exciting talent. He swings the mood between the soulful and the gut-wrenching. The opening and climax are exhilarating in their speed and economy, while the scenes of contemplation capture the extremes of the landscape and the turmoil of the characters.
Only time will tell whether THE PROPOSITION has the reinvigorating impact that the following had: THE SEARCHERS, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, ONCE UPON IN THE WEST, THE WILD BUNCH, DANCES WITH WOLVES and UNFORGIVEN.