The Proposition

Set in the Australian Outback in the 1880's, Guy Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, the brother of fellow outlaws Mikey (Richard Wilson) and Arthur (Danny Huston), all of which are wanted by British authorities for a score of indiscretions, including most notably the rape and murder of a pregnant woman. Charlie has fought to keep his brothers at bay, particularly Arthur, whose remorseless brutality has become the fodder of outlaw legend. Local law enforcement, led by Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), capture Charlie and Mikey after a shootout. Amidst torture of the young Mikey, who is quickly cracking, Stanley offers Charlie an impossible proposition: Kill Arthur to save Mikey. Stanley is trying his best to bring dignity and rules to a lawless land, and he offers a pardon to the two brothers if Arthur is successfully killed. Watson co-stars as Stanley's wife, Martha and John Hurt plays a memorable crazed old coot named Jellon Lamb. The Proposition is directed by music video director John Hillcoat from a script written by singer Nick Cave.

The Proposition's visualization, set against the sprawling and striking landscapes of the Australian Outback, serve as the lead character of the film. Shot on location amidst the sweltering heat and bugs, the film offers a very unique visual sense that sets it apart from other westerns, yet still somehow fits the genre perfectly. The settings are often so lush that they distract and overshadow the action on screen.

Guy Pearce's character is the heart and soul of Cave's tale, a wandering renegade who appears to have fallen into this life more than sought it out. It's unclear exactly where Charlie himself fits into the past atrocities of the Burns brothers. Charlie is a lost wanderer who is trying his best to do the right thing and turn his life around, a feat which he's finding to be increasingly less plausible in the untamed outback. He knows his brother is an evil man, but he's still his brother.

Pearce is terrific in the part, a dedicated, intense actor well-suited to the western genre. Dirty clothes, a sunburned face and general grizzle fit him well. Playing the conflicted character who chooses his few words carefully, Pearce echoes characters of the genre's past, most notably Eastwood's nameless man of Spaghetti Westerns.

Danny Huston seems to revel at the chance to play the bloodlusting Arthur, whose remorseless take on the constant havoc that surrounds him pits his character on the borderline between straight up evil and all out insanity. Huston plays the part with a crazed intensity that makes Arthur into a truly memorable character.

Ray Winstone is excellent as the conflicted Captain Stanley, who is trying so hard to do the right thing in a place where the lines are often so blurred. The characterization is some of Winstone's finest work to date. Emily Watson, as Stanley's wife, plays the majority of her part with looks of confusion and looks of love put onto her husband, a woman desperately trying to overlook the fact that their lives are falling apart in this untamed and savage land where so much is out of their control. Rounding out the cast is John Hurt in a small but meaty part as a grizzled bounty hunter named Jellon Lamb. As old and frail as he looks, I wouldn't want to mess with him.

Cave's script is methodical and occasionally meandering, as is Hillcoat's direction. The pacing of the story is off a bit, but the moments where it hits you, it hits you hard. Drawing on westerns of the past, in particular the work of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, the story is quiet and subtly paced, in between the ear-piercing gun blasts of the film's chaotic shootouts. The Proposition is not for the faint of heart nor the short of attention span. The sheer realism of the brutality is often off-putting. Blood splatters, heads explode, etc. I often felt disconnected to the film, but then an intense action sequence or striking visual would bring me back and engage me once again. For every blood-filled, bullet-bound shoot out, the story passes through long, methodical moments of Charlie's internal struggle as he traipses through the Outback. The film works on the whole, but I feel like it might take me a second viewing to grasp everything it is going for.

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