The Proposition

The Proposition, written by singer/songwriter Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat (Ghosts… of the Civil Dead) is a dark movie about a very dark time in Australian history. Commissioned by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, it is the story about the Burns gang - Irish brothers Arthur (Danny Huston), Charlie (Guy Pearce) and Mike (Richard Wilson).
It’s the 1880’s in the Australian outback. Arthur Burns, the oldest brother of the three, has just brutally murdered the Hopkins family and the law officers are after him. Charlie and Mike are so horrified by what Arthur has committed; they leave their brother and flee. The officers catch Charlie and the youngest brother Mike. Captain Morris Stanley (Ray Winstone), an English policeman, makes Charlie a proposition. Stanley will save the youngest brother (Mike) from being hung if Charlie kills Arthur. He sets out to track him down in the unforgiving landscape.
As I said, this is a dark film and deserving of its R rating. The acting is brilliant, especially Winstone as Stanley, not only trying to track down Arthur Burns, but also trying to protect his wife Martha (Emily Watson – Red Dragon) from the harsh reality of their new-found home. Martha was good friends with the family that was murdered.
It’s bloody and there are heaps of flies. The Proposition picked up four AFI Awards including Best Score for Nick Cave’s haunting soundtrack and Best Cinematography. We live in a beautiful country – but it’s a shame about our past.