The Proposition – Western Blu-ray movie review

Australia is a country in the throws of settlement by the English and lawlessness is rife. As the bloody clearing of aborigines continues, one gang's attack on a white family causes outrage. The pressure is on Captain Stanley to bring in the Burns gang, led by the sadistic and heartless Arthur. When Stanley's men capture the two younger brothers he strikes a deal with Charlie, the elder of the two. In nine days time, on Christmas Day, young Mike will hang unless Charlie has returned with his brother – dead or alive.

A staggeringly moving and uncompromising examination of contemporary emotions set against our early settlement history. The first thing I noticed about this film was the look of Guy Pearce's character's hair-dirty and stringy-something that Hollywood with it's pretensions and million-dollar babies would never allow. But these people looked bad, acted bad and I'm sure-smelt bad. In short, they were real people and they acted as real people in those monstrously uncompromising times would have acted.

The plot is a simple, classic genre plot: a band of outlaw brothers rape and pillage a good Christian family and then comes the more complicated revenge, loyalty and morality drama that will blow you away. Winstone's man of the law gives Pearce's criminal a proposition: bring home his third brother, responsible for a hideous crime, or he will kill his weak younger brother. The mythological overtones are perfectly done as are the inferences to Conrad's Hearts of Darkness. Huston's character is like a version of Kurtz. The characters are all ambiguous in their motives and every actor is game for the challenge...

Guy Pearce as lead character Charlie Burns has garnered plenty of praise for his role but in truth, the real focus of the story is on Ray Winstone's performance as Captain Stanley. As the leader of the local police force, Stanley is a conflicted man. He is determined to civilise this land but isn't afraid to use underhanded means to achieve it resulting in the unresolvable moral dilemma when he sends Burns to kill one brother in order to save another. Furthermore, he has the unenviable task of sheltering his innocent wife from the reality of their situation, a task which is testing him to breaking point and driving a wedge through their marriage. In conveying all this Winstone is never less than captivating. He is full of pride and resolve but is let down by the fact his London morals do not apply in this insane lawless land and he deserves as much adulation as possible for his portrayal of wounded male pride.

Deliberately paced and filled with jarring images of violence and dread, The Proposition is not easily forgotten and it makes an impact. The script is well written by Cave, takes no shortcuts and doesn't sugarcoat the violent era it's portraying. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the film very much, didn't always get the philosophical mumbling but in the end the film makes you think and you won't forget it for a while.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to purchase above blu ray movies at Amazon.com and save 30% or more!