Review of The Proposition (2005) by David G — 03 Jul 2008

A quite frankly beautiful piece of filmmaking. The fly-infested, dusty, dry shots of 19th century Australia are majestic, as are the performances from the first-class cast - Guy Pearce is once again exceptional, his character Charlie Burns is one of the most interesting anti-heroes of recent times. Danny Huston is both searingly intense and gracefully gentle as disturbed criminal Arthur Burns, elder brother to Charlie. Ray Winstone is fantastic and John Hurt is just off the chart, his role may have been short but it sure was sweet.

The movie just flows so well, aided in no small measure by Nick Cave's mesmerising score. I love how the movie can so suddenly go from one extreme to the other in terms of violence - one second you'll have Guy Pearce's character walking serenely along a tranquil rockface, the next he suddenly has a spear thrown through him! Sometimes these two extremes can be occurring at the same time - one memorable scene has Charlie's younger brother Mike (played by Richard Wilson) being bloodily flogged while elsewhere outlaw Samuel Stoat (Tom Budge) sings a beautiful song to his comrades, the latter playing over the former to create a harrowing mix. This trend can even be found in the two brilliant scenes which bookend the movie - at the beginning we are immediately thrust into a chaotic gunfight, whilst the final shot is set against a calm, exquisite sunset.

I really can't find a bad thing to say about this movie, it is simply an elegant piece of filmmaking and thoroughly engaging throughout.