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Proposition (The) (2005)
R4 - Australia - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (18th July 2006). |
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The Film
 Every film genre seems to be offering something interesting, but I´m still quite selective of the upcoming films that come to theatres. I tend to be less excited with every new blockbuster that is released on a monthly basis, and even when I go to see many of them (and also enjoy them), it´s not that I´m actually hugely “excited” about e.g. “Superman Returns (2006)”. There are still two genres that get my juices going basically every time when some new film is announced, partly because they aren´t released that often nowadays and are usually a more serious drama. One is war, and the other is western. Both of these genres tend to keep the quality high, and e.g. modern westerns (here meaning 1980s+) are something that I have enjoyed very much; “Silverado (1985)”, “Young Guns (1988)”, “Unforgiven (1992)”, “Tombstone (1993)”, “Wyatt Earp (1994)”, “Open Range (2003)”, and “Deadwood (TV/2004-)” have all been pretty good, many underrated, and some real classics. Australian and UK co-production “The Proposition (2005)” was one recent western which really got my interest, since the magic word “violence” was tightly connected to this film, and it was set in rural Australia. The cast was also quite impressive, even when it doesn´t include any “superstars”. On paper, it had everything that a western-fan could hope for. The film opens with a photo montage during the opening credits, which reflects the history and the era that the film is set. Britain started colonizing Australia in the late 1700s, first mainly with convicts and soldiers that were guarding them, and later by free settlers and farmers. In the mid-1800s, the gold rushes and rapid expansion created prosperity, which lasted until the depression strike in 1891. The Commonwealth of Australia was born in 1901. The 1880s was the last era of the so-called “Bushrangers” (persons like the famous Ned Kelly), mainly escaped convicts or just outlaws, which to some people were also folk heroes. These men were hunted down by the colonial authorities, since eventually they were posing the threat to the plans of colonizing the whole country, and to “civilize the land”, like British Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) says in the film. The first dramatic moment happens right after the opening credits, and the audience is in the middle of the intense firefight. Two of the Burns brothers, Charlie (Guy Pearce) and the younger Mikey (Richard Wilson) are caught by Captain Stanley and his posse. They´re accused of the slaughter that went on in the Hopkings farm, where the whole family was killed, women raped, and the place burned almost to the ground. Stanley suspects that the real guilty one is the eldest brother Arthur (Danny Huston), an unpredictable man with psychopathic tendencies. He is still “out there” with a couple of men of his own. Stanley gives a proposition to Charlie; he has to find and kill his older brother in 9 days, or his kid brother will be hanged. It´s as simple as that. And obviously far from it. From this very emotional and effective opening and the set of the story, the film doesn´t rush to the next gunfight, but is rather starting its quiet, often poetic, journey to the themes such as pride, loyalty, morale, and of course revenge. It´s a realistic film, where the characters have depth under their rugged cover, the violence is grim, and the blazing hot sun makes everything almost dream-like. The film was shot on location around Winton, in Queensland, Australia, in 48 days, and the area there is quite perfect for the story. An almost non-cloudy sky, rough landscapes, sweat, dirt, and flies together with cinematographer Benoît Delhomme have created the quite unique look of the film, with a rich and saturated colour palette; harsh and bright tones during the daytime, sometimes giving almost an overexposed look, yellow tones around the evening, and blue shades at night. You´ve many sunsets, and sometimes you only see the silhouette of the characters and the shapes of the rocks. Interior scenes are dark, with characters looking for a place to get out of the sun. In many westerns the landscape is almost like another character of its own (e.g. John Ford and Monument Valley, and Almeria, Spain in many Spaghetti westerns), and in “The Proposition” the Australian outback is a very unique and powerful setting for the film, and it almost gives a small edge to some other westerns for being a bit “original” in terms of the location. The film offers some great roles, but in the end it has to be said that none of them truly rises above the other. Charlie is, in the end, a quite typical western protagonist; a quiet, controversial man, who still has some morale and fairness left in the violent world that he´s living. He doesn´t speak much, but when he does, people should listen. In his opposition, Captain Stanley is a man far from home in the land that he doesn´t fully understand, and a bit like Charlie, all he really has is his pride as a lawman, and his loved wife Martha (Emily Watson). Martha doesn´t fully understand how cruel and violent the profession of her husband is, but during the film, she will learn. To me, both Charlie and Stanley are from the same tree, but from different branches. In a different kind of world, they would probably be on the same side, or at least face each other as equal men. Where Charlie makes the journey to face his brother, Stanley is taking the journey of his own to the difficult questions of the law and morale, especially since he wants to be a “good man” in front of his wife. Both will find some answers. From the rest of the brothers; Mikey is a sensitive “child” really, and still probably quite innocent, but he will be the one facing the terror from the local police. Arthur on the other hand has very little decency left. He´s just a tormented soul, only capable of violence and torture. Charlie is facing the difficult choice between his brothers, his flesh and blood, but yet so different. There are also a few other interesting characters; Eden Fletcher (David Wenham) is an even bigger authority than Captain Stanley, and a vicious man on his own. Bounty hunter Jellon Lamb (John Hurt) also stirs the story, being a very interesting character, but not really explored properly in the film. Guy Pearce (from “L.A. Confidential (1997)” and “Memento (2000)”) is really solid in the film, but with the role that he has, he doesn´t exactly get to shine (he has a strong Irish accent, since many of the first convicts brought to the continent were Irish). Ray Winstone (“Nil by Mouth (1997)”, “Sexy Beast (2000)”, and “King Arthur (2004)”) is actually one of my favourite (current) British actors, and he really gives everything to his character. His screen presence is unique. From the rest of the cast, Emily Watson (e.g. “Breaking the Waves (1996)” and ”Red Dragon (2002)”), David Wenham (e.g. “The Lord of the Rings-trilogy (2002-2003)”), John Hurt (e.g. “Alien (1979)”, ”The Elephant Man (1980)”, and “V for Vendetta (2005)”), and Danny Huston (e.g. “21 Grams (2003)”, and ”The Aviator (2004)”) are all fine actors, giving equally fine performances. Director John Hillcoat is best known for his angry debut film “Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988)”, which was also co-written by musician Nick Cave. Cave penned also the script for “The Proposition”, and also served as a co-composer for the film, together with Warren Ellis. The film is very music orientated, which carries the film in many scenes. The music is not always what you have expected to hear in the other westerns, and Cave gives some quite unique modern-western themes which suites well for its “calm before the storm” mood. Interestingly, Cave have also co-composed the upcoming American western “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)” (starring Brad Pitt), so looking forward to that also. “The Proposition” also deals with the grim faith that colonizing Australia caused to the aboriginals, who had already lived there around 60,000 years. When the first settlers arrived, lands were taken by force and with the help of the military force. This eventually started a minor “war” between the aboriginals and the settlers, and by the late 1880s many of the aboriginals were dead (if the reason was not the colonial powers, the European based diseases did the rest). The hate and racism toward the aboriginals is quite clear if you watch the film, and many times you don´t really see which one is worse, the “Bushrangers” or the people “civilizing the land”. Part of the history is actually the real strength of the film, since it makes the story very believable and honest, making the violence feel even more grim. The film doesn´t really include similar “poetic violence” than films like “The Wild Bunch (1969)”, but this is still a quite violent film. Victims really suffer, their heads will be blown off or they will be kicked in a bloody mess. In the world of “The Proposition”, prisoners are hardly taken.
Video
The Australian-release presents the film in Anamorphic 2.35.1 (could be 2.40:1, didn´t measure it), and it looks quite stunning. Apart from the minor softness (probably part of the original look of the film) and a few scenes with line shimmering, the strong, saturated colours and deep blacks are something that really does justice to the beautiful cinematography, and do I really have to add that the image is clean as a whistle. I can´t honestly say anything bad about the transfer. “Dual layer” disc runs 99:46 minutes (PAL), and is coded “R4”. Bitrate seems to be around 8 Mbps, which is very good indeed. 28 chapters are included.
Audio
The disc includes an English Dolby Digital 5.1-track, along with English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. Optional English HoH subtitles are also included. A bit surprisingly, the 5.1-track is not as dynamic and surround-orientated than you could´ve expected, and even when there are scenes with gunfights and similar (like the opening), you don´t get anything that aggressive in terms of sound like in e.g. “Open Range (2003)”. There are obviously some directional effects (like flies, wind, etc), but the main player in the track is still the music score, which really does wonders for the film, and is very nicely presented in the soundtrack. Not a soundtrack to show off your HT-system, but a good one nevertheless.
Extras
A few extras are included (no subtitles are included), even though this film obviously deserves something more than that. ”The Proposition” -featurette runs 13:07 minutes, and focuses on the aspect of film making that is quite rarely discussed in extra features; preserving the nature and the land while making the film. Formed in 2003, “Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act” has the following main purpose; “provide effective recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage”. This also means that during the filming certain advisors were used to tell and educate the filmmakers about the locations and their history, and eventually help them to protect it. Director Hillcoat, and co-producer Chris Brown get to say something, but the main talking is done by one of the advisors, a woman called Pearl Eatts. This is all actually quite interesting, but don´t expect any proper “Making of”-material. Bonus trailers are included for “Sueńo”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, and “Mirrormask”, all from 2005. With “Play All”-option, they run 6:15 minutes.
Overall
“The Proposition” is an excellent western; rugged, poetic, and visually perfect. It also has a strong connection to the history, and again not to a very pleasant one. This R4 offers a top-notch transfer, but is lacking in the extras-department. This comes recommended. This DVD is available at Xploited Cinema.
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