The Proposition

Australian Westerns have had a rather spotty history. Two films about legendary outlaw Ned Kelly have flopped (first with Mick Jagger and then Heath Ledger). Quigley Down Under is merely a standard American Western set in another country. Mad Dog Morgan features a good lead performance by Dennis Hopper, but emphasizes its anti-racism theme at the expense of solid drama. The Man from Snowy River has been the most successful -- both with Australian and American audiences -- but it's essentially just a pleasant family movie. Which leaves The Proposition as the best of a middling lot. With excellent use of a forbidding landscape and outstanding performances, The Proposition is a solid version of that western staple: the revenge yarn.

Somewhere in the Outback of the 1880s, English lawman Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) gives outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) nine days to turn in his brother Arthur (Danny Huston), who is wanted for an especially heinous crime, or their baby brother Mikey (Richard Wilson) will be hanged. In other words, it's Sophie's Choice meets Unforgiven.

The Proposition switches back-and-forth between Charlie's search for Arthur and Stanley's troubles back in town. Stanley must contend with loutish, racist subordinates, looking for an excuse to shoot the local aboriginals, an arrogant big wheel (David Wenham) who thinks Stanley must do his bidding, and Martha Stanley (Emily Watson), who extremely uneasy in this savage land. After making his proposition to Charlie, Stanley exclaims, "Australia . . . what fresh hell is this?" Both protagonists are living in hell, caught up in contrasting moral dilemmas. Can Charlie sacrifice Arthur to save Mikey and still live with himself? Can Stanley keep order while retaining his self-esteem and Martha's love?

Director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave, the famous rocker, clearly are asking questions about what constitutes civilized behavior. The Stanleys attempt to retain a tiny spot of England by cultivating a rose garden, seeing their home as a refuge from the hostile outside world. Stanley is torn between what Martha wants him to be and what he needs to be to carry out his duties. Charlie is repulsed by Arthur's behavior, but still loyal to his brother. Hillcoat and Cave, who also explores violence and death in his songs, emphasize the thin line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in a so-called civilization. Stanley is appalled that the "good citizens" of his community are not unlike the outlaws.

The Proposition finally plays out rather conventionally and predictably, yet there is much to admire. Cinematographer Benoit Delhomme creates some striking images -- beautifully detailed in this transfer -- of the pitiless landscape and its fly-specked inhabitants. He and Hillcoat have clearly studied John Ford and Sergio Leone attentively.

Charlie is a laconic loner in the Clint Eastwood tradition and Pearce even looks like the young Clint in a few shots. Pearce conveys Charlie's anguish with his haunted eyes. Huston, a sometimes irritating presence elsewhere, does his best work so far, making Arthur a larger-than-life figure incapable of recognizing his own evil, much like John Huston in Chinatown. Making up for the mediocrity of Separate Lies, Watson stands out when Martha learns of her husband's proposition, silently displaying a myriad of emotions in seconds. Giving the film's most over-the-top performance (as a bounty hunter) is John Hurt, looking more than ever like Keith Richards' more hyperactive twin. In the commentary, Hillcoat and Cave chuckle over Hurt's excesses.

Then there is the great Winstone, arguably the best character actor around and easily the best thing in The Departed. Adopting hesitant body language and broken cadences, hurrying through one sentence, halting during the next, Winstone recalls Anthony Hopkins in his prime. When Charlie tells Stanley that he has no legal right to hang Mikey, Winstone replies, "I am what I wish to be." This is both a threat and the character's attempt to convince himself that he is right.

In addition to the commentary, Hillcoat and Cave are also central in over two hours of behind-the-scenes docs focusing on such topics as the film's historical background. Hillcoat, who has been directing Cave's music videos for over twenty years, came up with the idea for The Proposition during a trip to the Outback and, after first approaching the musician about doing the score, asked Cave to write the script as well. Cave explains that, while he was confident about the story, he was less sure about his ability to write dialogue. Strangely, Cave, who left Australia for England when he was twenty, had never been to the Outback before The Proposition began production. -- Michael Adams