Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The Proposition

by Nick
The best film I have seen this year so far.

Having not seen more than a plot synopsis and no trailer, I came into this one pretty unprepared. Not that there is anything to prepare yourself for, save some pretty brutal action. This is just a plain excellent Western.

Guy Pearce plays one of two brothers captured by Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), the local military/police chief, who is given the proposition of the title. Find and kill the older brother (Danny Huston) or the younger one will hang.
It's an excellent premise and setting the film in Australia proves to be a greater bonus than having it take place in the Old West would have been. After a while I started to wonder why they hadn't done this before and more often.

It succeeds on all the fronts I thought The Missing failed. Getting under your skin, managing to tell the history of an era and an area, with an honest depiction of the brutalisation of an indigenous people, with biblical and lyrical elements that don't go overboard (except almost once with John Hurt popping in). That and some well rendered and shaded characters.

The film turns out to be more of an ensemble drama, with great performances all around. Have to say that Danny Huston is becoming something of a favorite. His particular brand of the smiling bastard has gotten pretty appealing. It's good seeing him get some much needed exposure here.

Whoever hired Nick Cave as a screenwriter deserves some kind of finders fee. A long time fan of the artist, but I really hope to see more screenplays from this guy in the future.

Great film.

Highly recommended to all lovers of a good Western.

5 Comments:

Blogger Nick said...

Oops, maybe I should change that to someone deserving a reward for giving Cave and Hillcoat money to make another movie. Naah..

But that does sound like a good rental. If there was a chance in hell it was available in Sweden.

3/08/2006 04:11:00 PM  
Blogger Brian said...

Will watch for it to come around.

BTW, the IMDb lists a release date for Sweden of Feb. 24, 2006 (US theatrical release in May).

3/08/2006 04:24:00 PM  
Blogger Nick said...

All the films I've reviewed for the blog so far have been seen in a cinema. Nothing illegal going on (yet), Brian.

3/08/2006 04:34:00 PM  
Blogger Nick said...

Poor Wes Bentley. Such a lost momentum.

But don't agree with Guy Pearce. If you're willing to forgive The Time Machine, last ten years the guy's done plenty of excellent films.

And I've promised myself before to do three things.
1) See McCabe & Mrs Miller
2) Read The Mayor of Casterbridge
3) See The Claim

Might skip out on 2). Tess of the D'Urbervilles was excellently written but also perfectly depressing. To not speak of Jude the Obscure.

3/08/2006 04:50:00 PM  
Blogger jaydro said...

Those stills make me think of The Outlaw Josey Wales (among others), and that is always a good thing.

3/08/2006 09:25:00 PM  

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