Roger Ebert
A 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...
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The Proposition
A western written by Nick Cave (of The Bad Seeds), set against the parch landscape of the 1880s, lawless, Australian outback. The land is hostile, unforgiving, and breeds heartless men - desperado brothers, zealous lawman, his civilized wife, a corrupt mayor, old coots, and resentful natives.
The story follows Charlie (Guy Pearce) who, after being captured by the police at the scene of a bloody rape and murder, is given an ultimatum: his sins will be pardoned if he finds and kills his outlaw brother.
"Singer Nick Cave brings an Old Testament flavour to his second screenplay, whose theme and tone will be familiar to fans of his music", says the BBC.
2006Rating: R16, contains violence, offensive language & content that may disturb104 minsAustralia, UK
ActionDrama
- Director:
- John Hillcoat ('Ghosts... Of The Civil Dead', 'To Have And To Hold')
- Writer:
- Nick Cave
- Cast:
- Tom BudgeGuy PearceEmily WatsonRay WinstoneDavid WenhamJohn HurtDavid GulpililLeah Purcell
The Proposition | Reviews
Premiere Magazine
The Proposition can be appreciated as a strong technical exercise, but it fails to resonate on any deeper level...
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New Zealand Herald
This is a grisly, but powerful, film that is both a great Western and a meditation on power, evil, and the weakness of humans in a hostile landscape. The most assured Australian film in years...
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Hollywood Reporter
A fascinating, mythological western set in the hot, dusty, fly-infested desolation of the Australian Outback of the 1880s. The violence of the landscape reflects the violence of the savage men, who roam this frontier devoid of civilization and of God...
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BBC
COMPLEX AND SUPERBLY PERFORMED... A bloody, fascinating Aussie western. The desperate story plays out in the stunning but spartan barren Outback - a place as hard and unforgiving as the men who roam it. It's a savagely entertaining look at the nature of man...
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