I'm surprised there isn't a thread on The Proposition yet. It's not like we get an overabundance of kick ass Westerns these days. I caught it over the weekend and would have to say it's the second best movie I've seen this year, after United 93.
The movie starts out with the capture of two outlaw brothers. The local sheriff (Ray Winstone) makes a proposition to the older of them (Guy Pearce) and then sets him free. If he finds and kills his much more savage and notorious older brother, he and his youngest brother will be granted pardons. If he fails, the youngest will be hung in a little over a week.
The performances, cinematography and writing are all top notch throughout the whole of the movie. Ray Winstone gives a performance that made me want to go rent more movies with him in them and the rest of the cast steps up to the plate as well.
While most of the violence is very brief, it's also very gruesome, with several glimpses of things that would give most recent horror movies a run for their money. Also, the movie's about as dirty as any I've ever seen, as most of the people are filthy to the point that you can almost smell the stink coming off them.
The only thing that bothered me at all was the score, which was done by Nick Cave, who also wrote the script. He uses distorted guitars and some slightly annoying whispering throughout the score, which IMHO didn't always fit with the tone of the film. If that hadn't drawn me out of the movie at times, I would've given it 4/4 stars. As it stands, I'd give it 3.5/4. If you like gritty, well-written, well-acted Westerns, you should make an effort to see this.
Trailer for The Proposition (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/theproposition/trailer/)
Geofferson
06-07-06, 10:57 AM
I've been hearing great things about this -- have been meaning to check it out.
slop101
06-07-06, 11:14 AM
I got the Aussie dvd of this great film a while back, but sort of regret it because it needs to be seen projected from flim onto a big screen.
A good mix of Pecinpah & Leone with it's own brand of originality - but it is a slow-burn of a movie with a measured, methodical pace.
BuddhaWake
06-07-06, 11:56 AM
those guys sure were dirty. the flies buzzing and just being all over just made my skin crawl.
Giles
06-07-06, 12:08 PM
those guys sure were dirty. the flies buzzing and just being all over just made my skin crawl.
yeah, it was quite gnarly... one of my friends was falling asleep during the movie at numerous points, my other friend couldn't stand the film, I on the other hand was quite floored by it... recommended in my book
marty888
06-07-06, 01:15 PM
Thanks for the reminder - planned on seeing this when the reviews came out, then forgot about it. Fortunately, it's still playing theatrically here in NYC/
sundog
06-07-06, 01:24 PM
Yes, a vicious and exciting film in the vain of Aguirre: Wrath of God (which just popped in my head as a comparison as I wrote this post).
Danny Huston is one of my favorite actors; great to see him in it.
BuddhaWake
06-07-06, 01:33 PM
I wish the film would have focused more on the brothers and not so much on the law enforcement guy and his wife. It was great. saw it at the Philly film fest and picked up the australian dvd and will more than likely catch it again this weekend down here too.
Tarantino
07-11-06, 02:35 PM
Just caught this at a small indie theater by surprise. Great flick, very gritty and dirty.
= J
Buford T Pusser
07-12-06, 01:32 AM
The new Video Business mag arrived today and it's on the cover.
It will be out on DVD 9/19 for $26.99 list.
Extras listed:
Director & writer commentary
5 behind the scenes featurettes
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Previews
Spanish Subtitles
Close Captioned
I'll definitely check it out.
Jippy
07-12-06, 11:45 AM
The new Video Business mag arrived today and it's on the cover.
It will be out on DVD 9/19 for $26.99 list.
Extras listed:
Director & writer commentary
5 behind the scenes featurettes
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Previews
Spanish Subtitles
Close Captioned
I'll definitely check it out.
You had me at "writer commentary". Tear.
Suprmallet
07-12-06, 03:26 PM
I've wanted to see this since I heard Nick Cave was writing it. Unfortunately, it's not playing anywhere near me. This may be one movie I pick up on DVD, unless they're talking about an HD-DVD of it. Who owns First Look Pictures?
theonemacduff
09-22-06, 08:42 PM
I've tried looking for this DVD as described in the review but it don't seem to exist. Amazon and all other retailers list it as 1.85:1, whereas the reviewer has it at 2.35:1. Canadian copies, as usual, have a different cover, and are listed on the box only as "letterbox/1.85", not as anamorphic/2.35. Amazon US doesn't have a cover illustration, and the Oz version is $40, which is ridiculous. Can anyone tell me whether US disc is 2.35/anamorphic, or whether Cannucklehead disc is anamorphic at all???
MechanicalMan
09-22-06, 09:51 PM
I love westerns, and I was a huge Nick Cave fan when I was younger, so I was really looking forward to this. I have to say that I was a little disappointed. It is worth seeing, but it's not great. It probably could have used more character development.
Luther Heggs
09-22-06, 10:53 PM
I've tried looking for this DVD as described in the review but it don't seem to exist. Amazon and all other retailers list it as 1.85:1, whereas the reviewer has it at 2.35:1. Canadian copies, as usual, have a different cover, and are listed on the box only as "letterbox/1.85", not as anamorphic/2.35. Amazon US doesn't have a cover illustration, and the Oz version is $40, which is ridiculous. Can anyone tell me whether US disc is 2.35/anamorphic, or whether Cannucklehead disc is anamorphic at all???
I picked up the US disc yesterday, and it is labeled incorrectly - both on the slipcover and on the case - as "Anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen," but the disc itself is anamorphic 2.35:1.
Buford T Pusser
09-23-06, 01:29 AM
I have it from Netflix and hope to watch Saturday night.
Arpeggi
09-23-06, 01:30 AM
I've tried looking for this DVD as described in the review but it don't seem to exist. Amazon and all other retailers list it as 1.85:1, whereas the reviewer has it at 2.35:1. Canadian copies, as usual, have a different cover, and are listed on the box only as "letterbox/1.85", not as anamorphic/2.35. Amazon US doesn't have a cover illustration, and the Oz version is $40, which is ridiculous. Can anyone tell me whether US disc is 2.35/anamorphic, or whether Cannucklehead disc is anamorphic at all???
It's 2.35:1 anamorphic, I just watched it. It says 1.85:1 on the box but it is 2.35:1.
GoldenJCJ
09-23-06, 05:42 PM
I got this through Netflix the other day...
I have to say I was somehwat disappointed. I was hoping for more character development. I don't know what they did or why from the first frame to the last. I guess that was intentional (at least the 'what they did' portion) but I couldn't invest myself in either side (the sheriff's or the bad guys'). Perhaps I was just expecting too much.
On the plus side the atmosphere the film portrayed was great. I felt like I needed a shower after watching it.
dpz301
09-24-06, 05:21 PM
i am interested to see this. will need to pick up the dvd at the next ddd sale.
gryffinmaster
09-24-06, 06:17 PM
Anyone recommend this as a good blind buy? Is it a fantastic film that might lose its steam after the first viewing?
MechanicalMan
09-24-06, 07:44 PM
Anyone recommend this as a good blind buy?
Only if you love westerns enough that you enjoy "lesser" westerns. I think it has some replay value (I will definitely watch it again). But IMO, it's just not too great. It's ok. The IMDB rating of 7.6 is about what I would expect, for whatever that is worth (I assume that rating will eventually drop a little). I would say that I probably like The Proposition a little less than Open Range and a little more than Tombstone.
Squirrel God
09-24-06, 10:40 PM
I thought it was excellent. There was a short dip in pacing in the middle that had me worried, but then it all came good again as the film built to a wonderful crescendo. I liked the whole idea of the proposition at the start and the gentle poetic build that it conjures. Great characters too, although I would've liked Guy Pearce (and Danny Huston) to not have gone with Irish accents. Though they didn't sound bad to my non-Irish ears, I couldn't see the point?
I watched this film last night, and it was definitely good, but not amazing. I'd give it 7-8 stars. The main disappointment for me was that they never gave an indication of what made the older brother so depraved & inhuman. I'm not saying I wanted to be told exactly what he'd done, but they could have at least made his character more bizarre, like a Colonel Kurtz, to make the whole story more believable.
smirnoff
09-25-06, 06:35 AM
Like a few of you, I too was pretty dissapointed with this movie. There was almost no sense of coolness to any of the characters, which is something that I really like in my westerns. I'd be willing to overlook that, if the rest of the movie had anything interesting to offer. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, It was just 2 hours of time.
Tarantino
09-26-06, 01:59 PM
I thought it was great. I picked it up on DVD yesterday and have to admit, it looks a hell of a lot better on DVD than it did in the theater. So much more cleaned up (the picture quality...the movie itself is still dirty as hell ;)
= J
valkyrie
09-27-06, 11:24 AM
I have to chime in with the lower end here. While it is a beautiful film, the character development was too slow, and it left me not really caring about any of the characters. But, if you like slow developing and very realistic films (dirty, gritty, nothing glamourized), this is likely worth a rental.
Geofferson
10-08-06, 09:36 PM
I too was slightly disappointed with this movie. I finally watched it on Saturday and had very high expectations for it (perhaps my problem from the outset). While it was very solid, I just didn't really care about what happened to the characters portrayed. Pearce and Huston both did great performaces as the conflicted brothers as did Winestone (as always) though.
thelwig14
10-10-06, 06:18 PM
I was hugely disappointed in this film. And what bothers me the most was it had the potential to be great. I just felt the movie should have been about the brothers and the torment Pearce would have to go through in deciding. However, half the movie or more dealt with marriage counseling in the Australian Outback. I just felt it was a total unnecessary plot shift and therefore led every character to be underdeveloped with little emotional ties to the audience. What a waste of great talent and setup.
Buy: