The Proposition
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Movie Reviews of The Proposition
Movie Review: Give it a chance and you'll be well-rewarded
Summary: 5 Stars
I added this to an order of five other movies, more as an afterthought than anything, figured that at such a low price, it would be hard to go wrong. And wow, what a deal that turned out to be- I ended up watching it before any of the others, and I was impressed on all fronts.
Nick Cave's script is tight, well-paced, and lends plenty of depth and pathos to both of the two main characters, and in turn, Guy Pierce and Ray Winstone both ably rise to the challenge of making each a complex, fully-realized figure that the viewer wants to understand and doesn't really simply root for or against, which makes the movie all the more interesting to watch as the inevitable conclusion draws near.
Add very solid direction and just the right amount of (non-gratuitous) violence to the mix and you have the formula for an excellent "modern" western, one that any fan of the genre should enjoy and also one that might well be worth watching even for those that aren't as familiar with such movies as Unforgiven and the like.
The Blu-Ray transfer is surprising solid for such an affordable disc. First Look isn't necessarily known for the best transfers around, and though there are certainly plenty of shots that have unpleasant levels of softness, the vast majority show excellent levels of detail and are sharper, which lends well to showing the depth expected in the better hi-def transfers.
Overall, a very strong entry in the genre, a good effort on Blu-Ray, and a great price.
Movie Review: Speechless
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll echo the sentiments of many others who are just plain confused as to why this movie didn't get more exposure. Brilliant acting with a terrific plot and setting I'm sure American audiences have yet to experience (the Aussie outback), this is a must-see for anyone who even thinks they might possibly like a Western.
I saw this with a friend who digs westerns as much as I do at a small indie theater. When the lights came up, everyone stumbled out zombie-like. It takes a toll on you :)
Movie Review: Violent & Beautiful film...gorgeous Blu Ray transfer...
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Proposition" is one of the best films of recent years. Though most reviews have been good, I am surprised this one hasn't received more attention for it's acting, cinematography, brutality, and beauty. Guy Pearce continues to impress in everything he is in, but the real reason to see this film is for Ray Winstone. He is one of this generations finest actors and is brilliant in "The Proposition". If you're squeamish, beware, as there is much violence within. But if you can handle it, I'm sure you will have to admit that this film is a masterpiece.Movie Review: One of the Best Films of the Decade-- A Masterful Stunner!
Summary: 5 Stars
Note, this is not a review, but instead is a thematic overview of this often brillant film:
In the final frame of "The Proposition" there is a contrast between the film's narrative meaning and the meaning behind the film, in which a character asks in their final breath in the last line of dialogue, "What`s next?" When taken into account these themes in the film, one can not help but see this difference-- the sun will rise to another day, but to what purpose for humanity-- as nothing is definitive, human life can be thought as nothing more than an experiment, especially considering the history of human self-destruction. It asks the audience to question if human existence is nothing more than a flash in the pan, or does it have a purpose in galaxy's ultimate design? Now, this does not at all mean there should be belief in a higher power. The film makes a case that the human race will survive or fail due to how the race carries out the means for achieving fulfillment.
"The Proposition," however, often times has a more pessimistic, even bitter, philosophy with its thought that we cannot break away from or ancestry begotten by animal, or the nature of survival of the fittest-- and though this notion is looked down on in the film by one of the characters-- the statement also comes with a sense of satire. It can also be interpreted as the belief that many humans are too caught up in there own sense of being, in the way that they believe they were indeed created individually by a higher power-- not even fathoming that we may just be the next step on the ladder in evolution, much like the cavemen; never bringing up that it can also can be "god's evolution," as well.
The film, which takes place in the 1880's Australian Outback, starts with a barrage of gunfire, blood spurting, and humans drawing their last breath, and the realization comes to the viewer that "The Proposition" is a western from the pen of Nick Cave, who is the legendary-and-literate Post-Punk/ Goth rocker of The Birthday Party, The Bad Seeds, and Grinderman. We then fade into: the actual proposition being made in the movie, as it follows outlaw, Charlie Burns (Guy Pierce,) and it being given to him by Captain Stanly ( Ray Winstone) after his younger brother Mike ((Richard Wilson) and he is captured by the Captain in a shootout after their band killed a local family. See, the Captain tells Charlie that he must find his psychopathic older brother, Arthur, (Danny Huston,) and kill him, because if he does not he will hang Mike, in nine days, which is also Christmas day.
It is with this triage at its core that the film's themes lie in the Darwinian theory of evolution, survival of the fittest, and that belief that though humans are derived from the apes-- our Neanderthal impulses are still one and the same. Yet, despite this concept, this side of the narrative of the film is not as interesting as it could be, nor is it as suspenseful or emotional at its core--simply, lacking the dramatic arc that could be achieved. Yet, there is another more interesting parallel story to make up for it in the form of the Captain Stanly character's reluctance to show or tell his wife Martha (Emily Watson) the horrors that surrounded her simple, upper-class life.
Apart from the morality play and survival aspects, a social commentary points out the upper class's illusion to the harsh and bitter world of urban society. There are many scenes in the film that show that those who are in the dark to the harsh underbelly of the world, whether they choose it or do not, are more ignorant to those who live with violence and persecution daily. This theology is shown in a whipping scene in which the mob of people who want an accomplice to a murder to be lashed to death for his crimes find that this man hurts like any other. Yet, he is but a boy, so who is the real monster? It should also be pointed out that all the characters of the film, even the psychotic rapist-murderer Arthur, (who holds the family unit as a high value) are neither good nor bad. The characters do what they feel is right, and especially what fits their method of survival and fulfillment. The film points out the facts, that all humans do this to some degree.
As, even more than a hundred years later, and even across the world in America, the newspapers and television programs account that the human race may be doomed-- and "The Proposition" will surely be the film to play at the funeral.
***** (Out of 5)
Movie Review: Blood Fest Fails the Test
Summary: 2 Stars
Hype is hype and cinema more than most art genres suffers due its dependency on it. However, I was prepared with empathatic promise for,'Propostion' having lauded Cave's score for,'Jesse James' and esteemed his writing in,'The Secret life of The Love Song'. After all, we'd seemed to have dieted on Westerns as kids and even gone to the same art school in Melbourne. So I dipped into the recent,'Nick Cave Stories' and this film over the weekend. The conclusion is that both products do not showcase his talents at their premium. The brilliant, brooding intensity found in the three minute pop vehicle is not so elucidating when extended to feature length nihilism. We never enter into the hearts or minds of the characters and no amount of ravishing scenery, and again, a superb score, can disguise or substitute for the serious absence of moral compass. Not, mind you, in the narrative, which one expects from the given scenario. But in the treatment and construction of the film. Whether this is the writing or directing I don't know. But I frequently felt that the film's sense of the frontier was left on the storyboard, and at times veered close to parody; cliches and stereotypes abound and the film has that familiar, pre-psychological Australian aspect to it. As for, 'Nick Cave Stories', only the industry of hype cultivating celebrity, could justify its publication. Such scant offerings and marginalia is a reproach even to hagiography. A few Polly Borland photos apart saves it from absolute dismaissal as trivia.