Fortunately, there's plenty of stuff on the sides to compensate for the hole in the middle. The supporting cast is a gritty gallery of grotesques. Huston's economical turn as the fierce and fiercely protective Arthur is a gem; he shows us a man who is capable of both great cruelty and great love without making it feel contradictory. Hurt only shows up in a couple of scenes as a verbose bounty hunter, but his funny and pungent performance demonstrates once again why he's one of the finest actors in the business. Emily Watson, too, adds her usual combination of confidence and tremulance as Martha, Captain Stanley's wife. (Watson should be in everything.)
And then there's Winstone. His Captain Stanley, far from being the expected hateful authority figure, is a rational man trying to do the right thing and yet realizing that he's hopelessly overwhelmed. Peering out onto the desolation of the desert, he exclaims, "Oh, what fresh hell is this!" and the subsequent story bears this out - The Proposition sees Stanley trapped in a hell that is partly his own doing and partly circumstance. He asserts his control early on ("I will civilize this country"), but it's not long before things slip from his grasp. Note especially the scene where he's upbraided by Eden Fletcher (David Wenham), his superior, for allowing Pearce to go free. He starts on equal footing, but by the scene's end he's been reduced to a dumbstruck child, unable to do much more than weep for the destruction of his pride and all he thought was right. Pearce may be the lead, but I hope I'm forgiven for seeing the story as being essentially about Winstone.
Part of Stanley's downfall can be attributed to his desire to civilize the outback and his willingness to strike deals with devils to do so. Hillcoat's portrayal of the land to which Stanley wishes to bring order is the most striking thing about The Proposition. The landscape of the Australian desert is as important a character as any of the damaged souls wandering through it. As photographed by Hillcoat and cinemaphotographer Benoit Delhomme, it's beautiful yet hostile, recognizable yet alien and ultimately indifferent to humankind. Scorched and sun-blasted, it's the kind of place where awful, violent things are bound to happen.
Article comments
1 - Snarkattack
Ah, the flies, they are an absolute pain in the summer, especially in the bush. Especially those fat March or marsh flies that bite.
I'm surprised you didn't mention (musician) Nick Cave's involvement in this film, I'm pretty sure he wrote the story. That is Nick Cave of 'Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' fame. When the film was first made, everyone here (in Australia) seemed to make a fuss over it.
2 - Steve C.
I did give Cave a quick mention in paragraph 3, but the general omission was intention for two reasons:
1) Most every article I've read about this film notes Cave's contributions while giving short shrift to Hillcoat. That seems a bit unfair to me.
2) In truth, I'm a big ol' Nick Cave fanboy, and I really didn't want this article to turn into blind hagiography. Which I tend to do when talking about Cave. He's the tits.
3 - Hugh C
Strangley enough, I saw this film almost back-to-back wtih "The Wind that shakes the Barley" and I think that The Proposition does a much better job of portraying the evil bastard Captain Stanley in a much better, almost compassionate way, than Ken Loach's treatment of the loathsome Black and Tans. (I'm Irish, not that that should make and difference). Whether this is due to Ray Winstone's talent or the direction or the writing is open to debate, but it's almost a masterpiece. I will watch this movie again.
There are some of details about Captain Stanley I'm intrigued by: Is he impotent? Is he an opium eater? Why would he know Shakespeare? After all he is a lowly colonial copper and presumably not well educated. His is an intriguing character, moreso than Guy Pearce's Charlie Burns and Danny Huston's Arthur.
Anyone with insight, please comment...
thanks,
Hugh
4 - Steve C.
About the only part I can help you on is the Shakespeare thing -- Captain Stanley is familiar with Shakespeare undoubtedly because he's a Nick Cave character, and Nick likes himself some high-flown literary references. Not as illuminating as you might have hoped, I'll bet... sorry. :-)
5 - Gary Riedel
I invite you to read my review at the listed site. Thank you.