Movies - The Proposition

[Scrivener]

Saw the trailer online a week ago and I was just so intrigued I had to go see this. I wound up at the historic Nuart theatre in west LA, an hours drive in almost unnaturally light SoCal traffic. For a film receiving absolutely no promotion and strictly on very-limited-release, the theatre seemed surprisingly full. No wonder - The Proposition is friggin awesome.

The setup is like this - it's Australia some time in the 1800s. A family has just been killed by a gang led by the oldest of three brothers, Arthur Burns (Danny Huston). While it's never explicitly explained, it appears that the two younger brothers, Charlie (Guy Pearce) and Mike (Richard Wilson), left the gang following the family's murder. When Charlie and Mike are caught by the law, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) makes Charlie a proposition. He must find and kill his older brother, the mastermind, before Christmas or the innocent youngest brother hangs.

From there things get sticky in a hurry. What makes the film so effective is that nearly all of the characters are basically good people who keep doing things they know are wrong (for varying reasons). Something else I appreciated was the films ability to communicate visually. An inconspicuous shot of a plate of food, for instance, speaks volumes in light of prior events. Sorry I can't get any more specific than that without going into spoiler territory - but I really don't want to ruin a second of this movie for anyone... and I'm fighting an almost irresistible urge to spoil what is perhaps the greatest opening scene in cinematic history.

It's a goddamn shame that this is on such limited release, because I swear The Proposition is canonical Western material. We're talking Deadwood, Fistful of Dollars, Unforgiven level material... but more brutal than anything you've seen this side of Tarantino. When the violence comes it's savage and shocking, almost like A History of Violence but with a more Hitchcock-leaning sensibility. That is, you see and hear only enough to achieve maximum effect.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT

In the opening scene, Mike takes the butt of a gun across the face. You don't immediately see the damage but you hear the blood running down his face and trickling onto the floor like a tweaked faucet. The effect is chilling, even before you see the bloodied butt of the gun or MikeÔÇÖs ruined face.

END SPOILER ALERT

If Hollywood wasn't so discriminatory about violent films, the actors here all gave Oscar-worthy performances. As I stated earlier, the film speaks visually without needing redundant dialogue to fill us in. Ray Winstone's performance as the Captain is especially notable. His character not only has to cope with his own guilt at letting Charlie go, but the blame of the locals and his superiors, and the injustices that result all while trying to shield his wife from the horrible truth.

I could just go on all night, but by now you surely must get the idea. The Proposition is not to be missed.

10/10