I had been looking forward to this film for a year and it totally lived up to my expectations. It's the three "Bs" (in bold): Brutal, Beautiful, Biblical. Consequently, those with delicate stomachs may wanna think twice, but it's got a heart and the acting is aces (the part of Charlie was written specifically for Guy Pearce, who gets the job done despite the paucity of dialogue). Fans of Sam Peckinpah, Terrence Malick, Nicolas Roeg's "Walkabout," and Peter Weir's "The Last Wave" shouldn't miss this, John Hillcoat's third and best film (1988's "Ghosts...of the Civil Dead" was his debut). If you think about it, there's even a little "Le Samouraï" in there as Danny Huston's Arthur is pretty Zen for such a coldblooded killer. Then there's John Hurt going absolutely stark raving bonkers in the boonies--man, it just doesn't get much better than that. a

Thanks for the comment. Of the forty plus films I've seen so far this is easily my favorite. I dug it! I dug it! (Conversations with Other Women was pretty good though). I failed to include any of the great quotes I pulled from this picture so I've made a revision and added some. If those aren't enough, here are a few more. "What is an Irishman but a nigger turned inside out." "What's a misanthrope Arthur?" "Some bugger that hates every other f*****g bugger." "The blacks say he's a spirit. The troops w ill never catch him." There were also some uniquely Australian touches. At a burial the backs of the men standing at the grave are covered with thousands of flies, and did you catch the quick shot of the stagecoach as it passed through town pulled by camels? Also fascinating are the similarities in the racial hatred whites have for the aborigines and how it seems identical to the treatment of Native Americans in most American western films. The bath scene when Martha recounts her dream is a standout. I liked the way the camera focused on her shoulder and moved out to her hands as they came out of the water as if she were taking the baby. The entire film was beautifully lit and Cave's score is great. I have been telling folks today, this is the best western I've seen since Dead Man. I plan on going to the screening Friday night. It should be great at the Neptune.e

A huge letdown.
After an hour, I had to leave the theatre.
Peter Fonda made better westerns than this.
In fact, Guy Pearce looked like Peter fonda impersonating Jodorovsky.
There was not one memorable scene (or even dialog exchange) in the first hour.
S ure, it looked beautiful, but that's what it looks like in the outback.
No great feat of cinematography.

This first scene showed some promise, if only that it was rip off of the first seige in Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
But nothing else resembled Peckinpah's work.
Sludge moves faster than this movie.
And the characters, with their blackened dental effects, looked ridiculous. Easily the worst western I have seen since Dances With Wolves.

›

Thanks for your comment. I checked my watch when you ( I couldn't believe it! ) walked out. It was the 42 minute mark in the film. Regardless, I believe that in order to evaluate any film it must be seen, in its entirety for any observations to be valid. Since you did not see the film you are unqualified to comment and I will not discuss any of your observations.

The chances of "The Proposition" making my top 10 for 2006 are quite good. I liked it better than "Brokeback Mountain" or "Three Burials"--even "The Unforgiven"--but then these films all prove that the Western form has not been exhausted and that there are still great stories to be told. Whether I like it better than "Deadwood" or not is another story; I haven't seen the second season yet, but the first was a corker. ›

Thanks for your comment. We are on the same page with this one. I might go so far as to say it's my favorite new film so far in 2006. I think letting in films like Brokeback Mountain means you'd have to allow others like Hud and Tender Mercies, which aren't fundimentally Western films. The Proposition has many of the basic building blocks of traditional westerns ( mythology, the frontier, native conflict, a lone hero, isolation, romanticism, etc ). While I did like Open Range ( Please can't Kostner just stick to making Westerns for pete's sake! ), I still think the last one I liked this much was Dead Man. I also think Nick Cave could be a fan of The Great Silence.