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Proposition (The)
R2 - United Kingdom - Tartan Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Tom Williams (16th August 2006). |
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The Film
 "The Proposition" is a compelling blend of tragedy and western, a stark film set against the backdrop of the bleak desert of the Australian outback. Guy Pearce plays Charlie Burns, one of the brothers of notorious criminal Arthur Burns (Danny Huston). Seven days before Christmas, Charlie and final brother Mike Burns (Richard Wilson) are captured by Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), the outback's new would-be civiliser. Charlie is given an ultimatum: Kill Arthur, or Mike will hang on Christmas Day. As Charlie begins his very personal quest, Captain Stanley faces professional problems as the details of his deal with Charlie begin to surface. It is this sort of duality and contrast that is echoed throughout the film's narrative, technique and theme. Shots are frequently cut between dark, claustrophobic interiors and the wide expanse of scorching Australian desert. Charlie Burns is in counterpoint to Stanley, caught between a psychotic elder brother as guilty as sin, and a dim-witted, almost innocent younger brother; Stanley is the middleman between the lawlessness of the Australian frontier and the civilisation of England. The message is essentially the dual nature of justice- the complications and intricacies of which are confused as the film continues- Charlie's personal quest begging for our sympathy even though he has committed despicable acts. In fact, the films violent conclusion leaves Charlie asking many of the same questions as us, and it is clear that he has been changed by his experiences. The performances are all assured and confident. Winstone's Stanley is the pivot around which the film turns, and he delivers an expressive role. His attempts to bring England to Australia create a bubble of naivety in which he attempts to imprison his wife Martha (Emily Watson) while he fools himself into believing he protects her delicate English sensibilities. Ironically, the lawman imprisons his most precious innocent while allowing the guilty Charlie to go free. Watson also delivers the goods as a woman representative of the roses she tries to grow in a picket-fenced garden surrounded by desert- beautiful, but capable of surviving in far harsher climates than one might imagine. Pearce turns in a performance worthy of Clint Eastwood as Charlie; his gaunt, wiry frame feels like one of the gnarled trees we see growing in the desert- appropriate, as Charlie Burns is as much a creation of Australia's frontier life as anything else in the film. Charlie's moral ambiguity hangs on him like a coat, his stern and silent contemplation of the world and his place in it just another environmental hazard like the searing heat or the spear that is thrown through his chest. Danny Huston is magnificent as Arthur Burns. His deeply intelligent and totally brutal character is captured in great form in a hairy, dirty frame that is capable of incredible violence that is somehow without malice- almost a personal mission to show humanity that life, like the world, is nasty and brutish. Wilson's turn as Mike Burns is quite capable of being overlooked- although entirely competent in his role as the youngest Burns brother, Mike's character is not compelling enough to be remembered well. Mike is more important as a plot device than a character- but Wilson still turns in a performance worthy of credit. Supporting performances from John Hurt and David Wenham and all the cast are excellent. "The Proposition" is not an easy film to watch- its violence, especially, can be hard to take, and the pace of the story left me itching to see more, faster- yet by the time the film had finished I was glad it had taken its time. Fans of the Western genre especially should not miss the film, but even those who have less exposure to westerns will probably find something worthwhile from the film.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1, this anamorphic transfer is beautiful. The image is sharp and shows off the Australian outback in all its arid glory. The colors are true to the vision of the filmmaker, skin tones are natural for the most part although in certain scenes tends to lean on the orange side. Blacks are bold and exhibit depth that remains consistent as does shadow detail. I could not spot any major flaws in this print such as edge-enhancement, compression artefacts or other digital noise which can be found on other Tartan releases. Simply put this is a glorious transfer that will please just about everyone.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included on this release, all of which are in English. We have a DTS 5.1 surround track as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS sound track. As far as DTS tracks goes this is a winner. The dialogue is distortion free and the sound space is used to its full effect, creating an atmosphere that places you right in the locations with the characters. The music is given ample breathing room and is never over bearing, there were a few instance that felt under-mixed, one scene in particular when John Hurt's Jellon Lamb character gets shot, you can hardly hear the actual shot. Aside from that it's a fine DTS track that compliments the beautiful image. The film also includes optional subtitles in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
DISC ONE: I found the audio commentary from director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave disappointing. Although quite thorough, the extra information they give us is simply not compelling- and tends rather towards the "and that's why working with X is so wonderful" school of self-congratulation. Cave is an interesting man, and certainly some of his insights were interesting, but I felt he could have had more to say. Although the majority of special features are included on a second disc, they feel as if they should have fit on the first- though the feature on meeting the cast and crew is extremely long at one and a half hours. DISC TWO: The second disc features the aforementioned long piece on the cast and crew of "The Proposition" interviews which runs for a staggering 86 minutes 16 seconds, and is very much worth watching even if it's paced even slower than the film itself. Each of the actors has something worthwhile to add to their process of preparing for the film- Watson and Wenham seemed particularly assisted by historical information. I can't stress enough that while this piece is long, practically a film in itself, the level of detail into which cast and crew alike delve in order to bring their concerns to the surface give the film whole new levels of enjoyment and meaning. Pearce and Huston are given extra space to wax loquacious on the film in these two exclusive interviews, Pearce's running at 13 minutes 35 seconds, while Huston's runs at 7 minutes 33 seconds - after watching the longer feature, their comments seem a little trivial. It's harder to take either of them seriously seeing them washed and shaved and wearing nice clothes while commenting on the brutal view of Australia we've just been shown- and the questions from the interviewer are simply dull, which gives us the impression that these actors are embarking on a promotional tour of duty, acting excited and interested when in fact their passion for the movie has waned in the months since they starred in it. This might be an ungenerous view, but this sort of stuff is filler compared to the actors sitting down and confessing that their knowledge of the violence in Australia's history is not what it should be. This said, the interviews are short and certainly inoffensive; worth a look if only once. Next is the featurette entitled "The making of The Proposition" running at 27 minutes 10 seconds is surprisingly good, feeling like something we can get our teeth into rather than the usual half-hour-made-for-tv-promotional fare. It does make the critical error of repeating material from the longer feature (or the other way around) which lessens its impact and its appeal- in retrospect, it's the feature I wished I'd watched first, to get me ready for the feature on cast and crew. It is the behind-the-scenes light version, but the passion and charisma of the figures speaking in it make it worth a look. The film's release theatrical trailer runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds and rounds out the special features, and is exactly what movie trailers normally are. Also included inside the case is a 2-panel booklet with an essay by Billy Chainsaw.
Overall
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