The Proposition (2005)

[GodShifter]

Screenplay by Nick Cave
Directed by John Hillcoat
Starring Guy Pearce, Danny Huston, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, and John Hurt
Soundtrack by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

I imagine there are some people that have seen this, but I haven't read any reviews on it other than, I believe, a mention of it on the old SR.com. So, with that mind, I decided to write a up a little review of this since I saw it last night and it's stuck in my brain as of now.

Firstly, terrific soundtrack that sparse and minimal with just Cave and violinist Warren Ellis doing some pretty fantastic soundscapes. I highly recommend it and I just ordered the s/t on Amazon because I liked it so much.

Secondly, the movie, to me, was great. Yes, like any movie I see, there were problems with some of the logic of the movie, but not much. This movie was like a combination of "Apocalypse Now" meets, perhaps, "Blood Meridian". There are definitely some nods to McCarthy's novel in this movie, but it's original enough and different enough that it doesn't merit direct comparisons other than it is a very gritty movie due to the violence, it's setting (1880's), and a few other things than make it similar.

This particular movie, though, is set in Australia in, as I said, 1880 and deals with the aboriginal people of Australia, redemption, and revenge. It's violent as hell; brutal and fairly graphic (though there are many occasions when it could have been more so and it might have been better for the overall effect the movie was trying to convey). Never the less, a fairly engrossing story that I highly recommend. A+

Great acting jobs by Pearce, Huston, Winstone, Watson, and Hurt. I definitely want to see this again sometime very soon.

[The Shocker]

Any nudity?

[GodShifter]

Almost zero.

[GodShifter]

Re-reading Blood Meridian, it appears that the time period of it is late 1850's, so never mind about the time line comparison. Forgot about that.

[Crutch]

I must say I agreed with everything....except the soundtrack. Cave has never done it for me and the weird singing breaks woven into the narrative threw me out of it (his soundtrack for The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford, however, was brilliant in that he didn't sing a single note).

But yeah, killer fucking flick. Interesting that you mentioned McCarthy. The director went on to direct The Road, which wasn't a bad adaptation.

Huston was mesmerizing as the antagonist. Ominous and dangerous.

[whoshotthefrog]

Great movie and the cinematography is amazing. It really shows off the landscape of Australia.