The Proposition (2005)

Director:

John Hillcoat

Writer:

Nick Cave (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

This land will be civilized.

Plot:

A lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him 9 days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Outlaw | Australia | Very Little Dialogue | Lynching

Awards:

13 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

Richard Wilson	...	Mike Burns
Noah Taylor	...	Brian O'Leary
Jeremy Madrona	...	Asian Prostitute
Jae Mamuyac	...	Asian Prostitute
Guy Pearce	...	Charlie Burns
Mick Roughan	...	Mad Jack Bradshaw
Shane Watt	...	John Gordon
Ray Winstone	...	Captain Stanley
Robert Morgan	...	Sergeant Lawrence
David Gulpilil	...	Jacko
Bryan Probets	...	Officer Dunn
Oliver Ackland	...	Patrick Hopkins
Danny Huston	...	Arthur Burns
David Vallon	...	Tom Cox
Daniel Parker	...	Henry Clark

Also Known As:

A Proposta (Brazil) [pt]
La proposta (Italy) (DVD title) [it]
Paranomi dikaiosyni (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Propuesta de muerte (Argentina) (DVD title) [es]
The Proposition - Tödliches Angebot (Germany) (DVD box title) [de]
The proposition - ehdotus (Finland) [fi]
Uvjeti predaje (Croatia) [hr]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong grisly violence, and for language.

Runtime:

104 min | Canada:104 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Australia | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:M18 | France:-16

Filming Locations:

Queensland, Australia

Company:

UK Film Council

Trivia:

One of the gunmen in the Burns' fort at the beginning is named "Jack Bradshaw". Although the movie's plot was fictitious, there had been a real 19th century Australian "bushranger" (outlaw) by that name.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the story takes place in the 1880s, Jellon sings "Danny Boy" - which wasn't published until 1913.

Quotes:

Captain Stanley: Australia. What fresh hell is this?

Soundtrack:

The Twelve Days of Christmas

A very bloody Western too hard to swallow…

Set on an arid desert and sun-baked continent, during the late 1800's British settlement days, Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, one of three brothers that make up the notorious criminal Arthur Burns…

At the opening credits Charlie and his younger brother the 14-year-old Mikey are captured after a bloody shoot out with regional Captain Stanley in the aftermath of a brutal rape and murder… The decent captain is after their eldest brother Arthur described as 'the beast,' and is prepared to do just about anything to get him...

Thus Stanley lays out Charlie an unholy bargain: While Mikey stays in his custody, in jail, Charlie must find, kill or return Arthur or his teenaged brother will be hung on Christmas Day… He has nine days to do so…

Charlie eventually finds his brother but is left with one choice… He must decide if he can live with his decision to either kill Arthur or let Mikey be executed…

John Hillcoat's characters not only strike us with their emotions of grief and pain, or their passion of hate but they are presented in their real states that sway down hopelessness, denial, pity and firm belief…

Pearce combines a touch of kindness to Charlie's character, but it's a touch that keeps out of the way any love… It's, in essence, only enough to add a decisive influence on his personality that makes him unpredictable…

Danny Huston is magnificent as Arthur Burns… His deeply intelligence and totally brutal character is captured in a very good sense…

Richard Wilson, Mikey is given little to do beyond being frightened and horrorized…

Winstone is amazing in the role of the army officer who wants to civilize the place… We feel how his nerves are about to break… He imprisons his wife Martha for safety and protection caring at the same time about her delicate sensibilities…

Emily Watson is absolutely stunning as the fragile woman whose gentleness captures convincingly the character of Emily, the innocent wife who cares about her husband, her house and her perfect "garden" but her way of life is so far away from the reality of her surroundings…

John Hurt gives an interesting performance as the deranged bounty hunter…

"The Proposition" is too violent, too dirty, too bloody, and too barbaric to be forgotten so easily…