The Proposition 2005
I had never heard of this movie, but I got it in a bundle of 10 indie movies at a ridiculously good price. The movie got good reviews from critics, probably for being such a different take on the classic Western. It is set in Australia in the 1880’s when the British were pushing the frontier into the outback with some pushback from the aborigines. But the plot is mostly about a gang of mostly white outlaws and the lawmen hunting them down. It is sporadically very violent and the characters don’t talk much, usually in low mutters at a much lower volume than the music and sound effects. I had to crank my headphones and then receiver up all the way to hear the dialogue and then dial back down. And while the acting is good generally, with a few standout stars, all the men have scraggly beards and are mostly interchangeable. It is kind of a moody film where you get a lot of scenes of characters looking into the distance, which probably meant something to the writer, but we have no idea. It is an interesting movie, both for the setting in place and time and also in the titular proposition itself, which is one of those deals that could only be made in the movies: the lawman captures two brothers in the gang and offers to let them both go if they kill the other brother, who he thinks is the main problem. The story is a little weak, but there are interestingly drawn characters for the most part even if they aren’t fully developed. I feel like there isn’t quite enough material plus the director didn’t do a good job with what he had. It is probably still worth watching if you don’t mind a violent western set in the very bleak outback, but it missed the mark for me.
Written: 02 May 2019
Owned on: Blu-ray