my Movie

Movie Details

Title:   The Proposition
Director:   John Hillcoat
Year:   2005
Genre:   Western
Times Seen:   1
Last Seen:   04.19.06

Other Movies Seen By This Director (2)
- Lawless
- The Road

Notes History
Date Viewed Venue Note
04.19.06Alamo South Lamar Next up was a special free AICN sold-out screening of this Aussie Western that hasn't really played here in the states yet. It's really freakin badass and brutal. Both Ray Winstone and Guy Pearce are awesome in this and the story is great. The usage of vintage photographs reminds me of how pissed I was by the end of The Village when all those old photos showed with the end credits but the movie was absolutely nothing like them. Well, this movie is pretty much exactly like the old photos you see with the beginning titles: gritty, dirty and wrong.

I think the best thing about this movie is how your sympathies are stretched and manipulated. In the beginning we learn that a family gang has raped and murdered a fine upstanding family, yet through the course of the film we come to get behind several of these family members> Nothing new, I know... but what really got me is that the film reminds you exactly of why you're not supposed to like these guys at the end, so there's a really uncomfortably sympathy there that I really enjoyed. Great script by Nick Cave and what must have been a solid hour of new music that really put a contemplative and sometimes jarring vibe on the scene. I thought Deadwood a few times but this is never as soap opera-y... Maybe the realism of Deadwood combined with the badassosity of The Wild Bunch or The Professionals. It's just really great and I was super impressed.