The last film I saw at the cinema: The Proposition

Firstly, apologies to the British crew if I lapse into the Americanism "movies". That is the correct terminology down under and it makes much more sense than "pictures" if you ask me, given that they are actually moving.

The Proposition is a British made film set in Australia and written by Nick Cave. Which is pretty much the only reason we ended up seeing it. Basically a mate of mine thinks Nick Cave is pretty cool and digs his music and mentioned that he was going to see this movie on Tight-Arse Tuesday (i.e. cheap night) and did we want to go? So, obviously we asked what it was about. "It's a western" was about all we got, meaning The Wild West of America. Which goes to show how much he knew about it. He also told us that Nick Cave had directed the film but in fact that accolade goes to a fellow by the name of John Hillcoat. I went because another thing my friend knew about the film (and was right about) was that Guy Pearce was in it and I'm a bit of a fan.

It's actually set in the Australian outback of Queensland back in the early days of settlement. The basic gist is that it's a pretty lawless environment and a new police captain from England is determined so sort all this out. The film concentrates on his attempts to curtail the horrific activities of the Burns brothers by arresting a couple of them and threatening to hang the young, simple one, if the elder of the two doesn't murder the oldest most evil brother. It's basically an incredibly violent and blood-thirsty film from beginning to end.

The cinematography is beautiful, powerful and purely Australian. The music is pretty cool. The whole thing is very dramatic. I was pleased to see that Ray Winstone and Emily Watson were both in it, Watson putting on a good show as always even if her character is somewhat simpering, but then weren't all women in those days? Unfortunately it doesn't really do justice to Guy Pearce's great talents as an actor. His character is the moody silent type and probably could have been played by anyone who can vaguely attempt an Irish accent.

The highlight (and almost worth watching the film for in itself, if you can cope with the gore) is the performance by John Hurt who plays a drunken English treasure hunter. Downright hilarious and most excellent. A week later I still think back to some of his lines, partly because he is outraged by Darwin's suggestion that white man and aboriginal man are related and are both descended from apes and I'm currently reading a book by Darwin called "The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals" (very interesting). Sadly, Hurt is only in two scenes.

I think a lot of the film was lost on me. I did find myself a little confused every now and again. But it did transport me back to that time, highlighting the racism of the white man and the battles between the English and the aboriginals, how tough life must have been for people in the barren outback, how they thought nothing of watching a man being publicly and violently flogged almost to death and how goddamn hot they must have been in those ridiculous Victorian costumes.

I think a lot of people would enjoy the film but it would probably be just a little too violent for most. So there's my tuppence-worth. I never did claim to be a film critic but I hope you found this interesting anyway. For a more educated viewpoint see these ABC and MSN reviews.