The Proposition (2005 film): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|2005 MotionAustralian PictureWestern}}

| budget = $2 million<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/HTMLDisplay.aspx?ContentID=9970&Section=Turning_words_into_pictures_An_interview_with_production_designer_Chris_Kennedy |title="Turning words into pictures." An interview with production designer Chris Kennedy |last=Siemienowicz |first=Rochelle |work=[[Australian Film Institute]] |date=February 2010 |access-date=2014-08-26 |archive-date=22 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422232643/http://www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/HTMLDisplay.aspx?ContentID=9970&Section=Turning_words_into_pictures_An_interview_with_production_designer_Chris_Kennedy |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''''The Proposition''''' is a 2005 [[Meat pie Western|Australian Western]] film directed by [[John Hillcoat]] and written by screenwriter and musician [[Nick Cave]]. It stars [[Guy Pearce]], [[Ray Winstone]], [[Emily Watson]], [[John Hurt]], [[Danny Huston]] and [[David Wenham]]. The film's production completed in 2004 and was followed by a wide 2005 release in [[Australia]] and a 2006 theatricalcinematic run in the U.S. through [[First Look Pictures]]. The film was shot on location in [[Winton, Queensland]].

In 1880s [[Australia]], Charlie Burns ([[Guy Pearce]]) and his gang engage in a gunfight with the police. All of the gang members except for Charlie and his younger brother Mikey are killed. Captain Morris Stanley ([[Ray Winstone]]) tells Charlie that he will have Mikey executed by Christmas, which is in 9 days. Stanley offers to free both Mikey and Charlie if Charlie agrees to kill his older brother Arthur Burns ([[Danny Huston]]), who is wanted for rape and murder. Mikey remains in custody while Charlie sets out to kill their brother. During a raid, the police capture some Aboriginal people who, whencall questioned, claim that the white man they seek (Arthur) is actually a "dog man" and report that no one goes near his cave.

Charlie ridesRiding in search of Arthur., HeCharlie comes to the charred remains of the Hopkins home, awhere familythe thatBurns wasgang murderedraped andpregnant theEliza wifeHopkins rapedand bymurdered theher Burnsand gangher family. Along the way, he encounters an inebriated old man named Jellon Lamb ([[John Hurt]]) in a cantina where the owner has been speared to death. Charlie realizes that Lamb is a [[bounty hunter]] in pursuit ofpursuing the Burns brothers and knocks him out. Later on, Charlie awakes and is speared in the chest by a group of Aboriginal men standing over him. Just beforeBefore passing out, he sees the man who speared him get shot in the head.

In town, Eden Fletcher ([[David Wenham]]), who hired Stanley to "clean up" the area, orders that Mikey be given one hundred [[Flagellation|lashes]] as punishment for the rape and murder of the Hopkins family. Stanley is aghast at this, not only becauseas he believes Mikey is not responsible for his actions and the flogging will kill him, but alsoand because it will break his deal with Charlie and bring the Burns gang's revenge upon him and his wife. Stanley sends Sergeant Lawrence away with tracker Jacko ([[David Gulpilil]]) and other men to "investigate" the reported slaying of Dan O'Riley (the dead man in the cantina) by a group of Aboriginal people.

Charlie wakes up in the camp of his brother Arthur's camp, located in caves among desolate mountains. Arthur's gang consists of Samuel Stoat ([[Tom Budge]]), a woman named Queenie ([[Leah Purcell]]) who tends to Charlie's wound, and a muscularan Aboriginal man called Two-Bob ([[Tom E. Lewis]]). As he recovers from his wounds, Charlie has several opportunities to kill his brother, but does not. He lies and tellsto Arthur that Mikey is not with him because he has met a woman.

Captain Stanley attempts to defend Mikey at gunpoint from the bloodthirsty townspeople, but is overruled once Martha arrives, insistingand insists on revenge for her dead friends. Mikey is flogged and fatally wounded. The townspeople grow tired at the excessive display, Martha faints, and Stanley flings the bloody whip at Fletcher, who fires him. Back at the abandoned cantina, Sergeant Lawrence and his men have found and massacred a group of Aboriginal people. Arthur and Two-Bob find Lawrence's group while they sleep and kill Jacko and Sergeant Lawrence. Before Arthur [[Stomp (strike)|stomps]] Lawrence to death, Lawrence tells Arthur that Charlie has been sent to kill him.

Jellon Lamb enters Arthur's camp and ties up Samuel and Charlie, both of whom are sleeping. Lamb is shot in the stomach by the returning Two-Bob. Arthur stabs Lamb in the heart; Charlie points his revolver at Arthur, but instead shoots Lamb in the head, putting him out of his misery. He finally informs Arthur that Mikey is in custody and is set to hang. Charlie decides to break out Mikey; Arthur, Samuel and Charlie ride into town dressed in the clothes taken from the slain officers Arthur and Two-Bob had killed, while Two-Bob poses as an Aboriginal man they have captured. Once at the jail, the men free Mikey, and Charlie and Two-Bob ride off with him, but the injured Mikey dies in Charlie's arms. Arthur and Samuel remain to behead the two officers insidein the jail. The badly injured Mikey dies in Charlie's arms.

Stanley fears retribution and loadsmakes several gunspreparations, but he and Martha let their guard down to have a peaceful Christmas dinner. OnceShortly theyafter beginthe Stanleys say [[grace (prayer)|grace]], Arthur and Samuel shoot open the door and invade their home. Arthur pulls Stanley into another room and brutally beats him. Samuel drags Martha inside, and Arthur has Stanley watch as Samuel begins to rape Martha. Charlie walks in and informs Arthur of Mikey's death; Arthur ignores him and encourages Charlie to listen to Samuel's beautiful singing. Charlie shoots Samuel [[point blank]] in the head, then shoots Arthur twice, disgusted by his conduct. Arthur staggers out of the house and Charlie follows a trail of blood to find him seated on the ground. Arthur asks Charlie what hehis willnext domove nextis, and dies with Charlie sitting silently by his side.

*[[Ralph Cotterill]] as Dr. Bantrey

*[[Bogdan Koca]] as Paul Broussard

''The Proposition'' received a [[Limitedlimited release]] in North America opening in 3three theatres and grossed $32,681, with an average of $10,893 per theatre and ranking #46 at the box office. The widest release in the United States for the film was 200 theatres and it ended up earning $1,903,434. The film also grossed $3,145,259 internationally including $1,567,266 in Australia and $1,157,037 in the United Kingdom for a total of $5,048,693.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=proposition06.htm|title=The Proposition (2006) - Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=proposition06.htm|title=The Proposition (2006) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo}}</ref>

''The Proposition'' received highly positive reviews from professional film critics and has a "Certified Fresh" score of 85% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 7.30/10. The critical consensus states: "Brutal, unflinching, and violent, but thought-provoking and with excellent performances, this Australian western is the one of the best examples of the genre to come along in recent times."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/proposition/ |title=The Proposition (2005) |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014}}</ref> The film also has a score of 73 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]] based on 31 critics indicating "Generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-proposition |title=The Proposition |publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014 }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]], giving it 4four out of a possible 4 starsfour, described the film as "Aa movie you cannot turn away from; it is so pitiless and uncompromising, so filled with pathos and disregarded innocence, that it is a record of those things we pray to be delivered from.". [[AM New York]], ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' and ''Entertainment Insider'' also gave the film 4/4four out of starsfour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-proposition-2006 |title=The Proposition (2006) |work=[[Roger Ebert]] |date=2006-05-18 |access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421238/mediaindex |title=The Proposition (2005): Photo Gallery |work=[[Internet Movie Database]] |access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014 }}</ref>

[[Ty Burr]] of ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' acclaimed the film as "a near-masterpiece of mood and menace, and one that deserves to be seen on the largest screen possible".<ref>{{cite news |last=Burr |first=Ty |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2006/05/26/a_mesmerizing_and_menacing_proposition/ |title=A mesmerizing and menacing 'Proposition' |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |location=Boston |publisher=[[John W. Henry]] |date=2006-05-26 May 2006 |access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014}}</ref>

J. R. Jones of the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' said: "This Aussie feature perfectly re-creates the charbroiled landscapes and cruel psychodrama of the old Sergio Leone westerns, with John Hurt particularly fine as a raging old mountain goat." [[Lisa Schwarzbaum]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' opined the film as "a pitiless yet elegiac Australian Western as caked with beauty as it is with blood.".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-proposition/critic-reviews |title=The Proposition: Critic Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014}}</ref>

[[Joe Morgenstern]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' labelled the film "a visionary tale of a fragile civilizing impulse crushed by family loyalty and a lust for revenge in the vast Outbackoutback of the late 19th century.".<ref name="rottentomatoes1">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/proposition/reviews/#type=top_critics |title=The Proposition Reviews |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=2014-08-26 August 2014 }}</ref>

Chris Barsanti of the ''[[Film Journal International]]'' called it "the finest, strangest and most uncompromising western to hit screens since ''[[Unforgiven]]''.".<ref name="rottentomatoes1"/>

As noted in behind-the-scenes features included on ''The Proposition'' DVD, the film is regarded as uncommonly accurate in depicting indigenous Australian culture of the late 19th century, and when filming in the outback, the cast and crew took great pains to follow the advice of indigenous consultants. In an interview included on the DVD, Lewis even compares the depiction of indigenous cultures in ''The Proposition'' to the landmark film ''[[The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (film)|The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith]]'' (1978), in which Lewis starred in.

The film was released on [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] on 19 August 2008 and [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|Ultra HD Blu-Ray]] on April 11, 2022.

[[Category:2000sAustralian Western (genre) films]]

[[Category:RevisionistBritish Western (genre)drama films]]