The Proposition
Part 1
Director ... John Hillcoat
Screenplay ... Nick Cave
Genre ... Drama, Western
Running Time ... 104 Minutes
Australian Release Date ... Thursday October 6 2005
UK Release Date ... Friday March 10 2006
Announced USA Release Date … Friday May 5 2006
Australian Classification ... MA 15+ (Strong Violence, Course Language)
Availability ... DVD Region 4, released 21/2/06
Cast
Guy Pearce ... Charlie Burns
Ray Winstone ... Captain Morris Stanley
Richard Wilson ... Mikey Burns
David Gulpilil ... Jacko
Emily Watson ... Martha Stanley
John Hurt ... Jellon Lamb
Robert Morgan ... Sergeant Lawrence
Danny Huston ... Arthur Burns
Tom Budge ... Samual Stoat
Rodney Boschman ... Tobey
David Wenham ... Eden Fletcher
Leah Purcell ... Queenie
Tom E Lewis ... Two Bob
Boris Brkic ... Officer Holloway
Iain Gardiner ... Officer Matthews
Officer Davenport ... Gary Waddell
Other Crew
Production Company ... UK Film Council
... Surefire Films
... Antonomous Productions
... Jackie O Productions
... Pictures In Paradise (Associate Production)
... Co-Financed by The Pacific Film and TV Commission
Producers ... Chris Brown
... Chiara Menage
... Jackie O'Sullivan
... Cat Villiers
Original Music ... Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Cinematography ... Benoît Delhomme
Editing ... Jon Gregory
... Ian Seymour
Costume Design ... Margot Wilson
Box Office Figures
Estimated Budget ... $20,000,000
Australian Opening Weekend ... $427,392
UK Opening Weekend ... £205,594
Australian Total Box Office ... $2,084,683
UK Total Box Office ... £638,655
Reviews
1. Margaret Pomeranz
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1474241.htm
"It’s a strange, unsettling film, ultimately quite moving, it’s impossible not to respond to it strongly. It’s not an easy access film. It’s violent and the motivation of the characters is sometimes oblique."
2. Avril Carruthers
http://www.infilm.com.au/reviews/theproposition.htm
"Despite its savagery this is a superbly poetic and original film, one of the year’s best, showcasing the talents of writer-director team Nick Cave and John Hillcoat in a gritty, believable story of brotherly love, betrayal and redemption, and the temptation into the degradation of revenge that is the consequence of violence."
3. Joe Utichi
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=20632
"Written by a musician, one would expect The Proposition to be lyrical and melodious. But Nick Cave's music is oddly theatrical and it's no big surprise to learn that, on screen, his writing plays with the same oddly disarming quality as his music. The Proposition is pensive and no-holds-barred."
Interviews
1. Proposition, the: Guy Pearce Interview - Interview by Rob Carnevale
http://www.cinema.com/articles/3948/proposition-the-guy-pearce-interview.phtml
‘I don’t want to big myself up and call myself a great character actor and at the same time I don’t want to call myself a leading man’. I feel a bit uncomfortable with it, I don’t know how to categorise myself, I’ve just got to do what I do I suppose.’
2. Nick Cave and John Hillcoat - The Proposition Interview
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking.asp?ID=159
Nick Cave: “We didn’t want it to sound like an American western that had been dumped in Australia."
John Hillcoat: “We wanted a kind of mythic and deliberately created fiction, not to be bogged down in a specific historical events, although I guess we were a bit like magpies where you just pick out the best bits to create a drama. This story really does run true to some sort of history.”
3. The Proposition - Danny Huston interview - Interview by Rob Carnevale
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/the-proposition-danny-huston-interview
"I don’t think he’s that bad. He’s a very lyrical character and has a strong sense of morality. He has a very clear understanding of who his enemies are. If you’re a copper or English, he’ll kill you. If you’re family, he loves you. In a way, the other characters are having to suffer a moral dilemma. Arthur’s morality is pretty straight-forward as far as he’s concerned."
4. John Hillcoat: Bushranging Without a Jacket
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking.asp?ID=164
“It’s kind of gone full circle, because the Australian bushranging films predated the American Western. But then they were outlawed by the Victorians and by outlawing that genre – it was full on film censorship – it took the wind out of the whole birth of Australian cinema and the American Western took over. It would have been very interesting if it had continued. So this is kind of like a return of what possibly could have happened.”
5. Exclusive Interview with Director John Hillcoat - The Proposition
http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/lookat.asp?FilmbaseID=20632&FeatureID=74
"There were very sacred sites, as well, that we were filming on, so we had to be fairly careful about how we were going about it. We learnt so much from them and they also contributed some of my favourite scenes."
Online Presence
Due to The Proposition only being 6 months old there is still a plethora of information regarding the film on-line. There are many interviews with writer/musician Nick Cave, Director John Hillcoat and the cast notably Ray Winstone, Danny Huston and Guy Pearce. There were not many interviews with the films producers but the occasional quote in an article, many taken from before the films release. Reviews for the film are also readily available online with many of them being from British critics due to the films subsequent release in the UK. This was interesting as it gave me an insight into another culture’s view of Australia's violent history. The film has its own website for the UK, America and Australia (www.thepropositionfilm.com, www.theproposition.co.uk
and http://sonypictures.com.au/movies/theproposition/index.html respectively). All three sites are fairly minimalist with trailers, review quotes, galleries and Showtime’s on the UK and US sites. It is also interesting to note the different promotional artwork for the US release of the film, which is geared to look more like a traditional American western, especially through the change of font. Also I should point out that the film is not released in America until May 5 2006 so any box office figures I have collected do not include US figures.
Part 2
Critical Review
The second collaboration between Writer Nick Cave (mostly known as brooding front man of rock group The Bad Seeds) and Director John Hillcoat The Proposition is a hard-hitting, gritty and dramatic Australian Western set in 1880's rural Queensland. It is the story of the notorious Burns gang and their pursuers, the colonial police squad, headed by Captain Morris Stanley (Ray Winstone). After a family of three are raped and murdered in their beds, allegedly at the hands of the Burns', Stanley and his men ambush Charlie (Guy Pearce) and the teenage Mikey Burns (Richard Wilson) (who claim they "no longer ride with their brother") in a flurry of gunfire early one mid December morning. It is when two of the three brothers are arrested by Stanley that the titular Proposition is proclaimed. In order to gain a pardon for him and Mikey, Charlie must track down eldest brother Arthur (Danny Huston) and kill him otherwise on
Christmas Day Charlie will be sent to the gallows.
Sepia photographs of colonial Australians and aboriginals are shown over the opening credits, with a young girls voice singing "There Is A Happy Land". It should be noted that when Cinematographer Benoît Delhomme's name is shown a cropped version of J.W. Lindt's "Body of Joe Byrne, member of The Kelly gang, hungup for photography" is shown. This picture is later paid homage to beautifully by Delhomme and Hillcoat, with a dead outlaw from the early morning raid scene taking Joe Byrne's place. This also shows one of many appropriate name choices that Cave has used for his ensemble cast.
It is from this point on that Charlie takes off on his journey to find his murderous brother who is hiding beyond the ranges completely removed from the white man’s way of living in the area. On this journey Charlie also runs into a worldly bounty hunter named Jellon Lamb, as played by the terrific John Hurt, who almost steals the show with his two scenes in the film. Much like Charlie's dilemma involving his two brothers, Captain Stanley is pulled between the good and evil of two characters. Smarmy landowner Eden Fletcher (David Wenham) tries to interject in the deal Stanley has struck with Charlie whilst his delicate wife, still dreaming of a life back home in England, needs his protection from the harshness of their new environment and it's inhabitants. It is here that his refrain of "I will civilize this land" is most appropriate.
When Christmas Day finally arrives the conflict is brought to a boiling point between all parties involved and it is up to Charlie whether or not he comes good on his agreement to the original titular Proposition. Reportedly written by Cave in just three weeks the film has an almost rhythmic pace that is changed up at the appropriate times through out the film. This pacing could be compared to that of a rock album, which Cave has a lot more experience at writing. An example of the changes of pace in the film is when Charlie is awoken and suddenly speared by a group of native Aborigines only to be saved by the members of his former gang of outlaws.
Beautifully written by Cave, Directed by Hillcoat and shot by Denholmme, special mention should also go to Costume Designer Margot Wilson who has created terrific handmade costumes from authentic to-the-period materials. The searing heat in which these costumes were worn during the films shooting just adds to the discomfort of watching The Proposition. This point also brings into play the "uncredited cast" of hundreds of flies seen in the film. Most noticeably this is highlighted in the most difficult scene to watch when 14 year old Mikey is ordered to 100 lashes by Eden Fletcher. This scene was used in promotional pictures for the film and is certain to become on of the most memorable and vivid images from Australian Cinema at the start of the 21st Century. Whilst at times the violence does seem unjustified and overly graphic it is all part of setting the mood for the film and uncovering some of our nation’s violent history.
The Proposition is a gripping piece of cinema that is truly unforgettable. It is filled with terrific performances. An understated Guy Pearce gives Charlie a realness and depth to a character of few words, Danny Huston is frightening yet obsessed by love and family as Arthur and Ray Winstone is in fine form as Captain Morris Stanley. It is without a doubt that this big budget Australian western will be hailed as landmark film not only of the genre but of Australian cinema in general.
Critical uptake of the film
Whilst the film did moderately at the box office ($2.2m), critically it was a huge success. Most critics gave the film very good ratings with the lowest I remember seeing for it a 6 out of 10. Many critics applauded it as one of the best Australian films of the year with the only real competition coming from Look Both Ways and Little Fish. Had it been released in 2004 I could see it winning all the major local film awards due to the lack of quality released that year. The reviews shown in part one of this project indicates that there was great critical support for this film. Although in many cases Australian critics are overly generous towards local films in this case the critical acclaim seems justified. The British review of the film shown above (http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=20632) is just as glowing as any of the local reviews
Outline circumstances of production, release and box office
By all accounts the production of The Proposition took place in very uncomfortable conditions. Shot in and around the small town of Winton, Queensland stories of temperatures reaching the high 50's on the Celsius scale were not uncommon. The costumes involved in the shoot would have made it very difficult for the cast to feel comfortable, with authentic period costumes being used. This is translated onscreen as the cast rarely look comfortable. Along with the un-credited cast of hundreds of flies in the movie, the shoot must have taken place in extremely difficult conditions.
Released on the 6th October 2005, The Proposition had a decent promotional campaign for a local film and was shown on 63 screens across the country in its first two weeks. Compared to the number one film at the time, The 40 Year Old Virgin, this is 180 fewer screens (source: www.moviemarshal.com/ausweek13-10-05.html). Many of the films in the top 10 at this time were children’s films, due to it being school holidays during this period. This heavy competition meant that the $2.2m The Proposition took in was not as much as what could have been expected. The $427,392 the film took in its first week landed it just outside the top 10 in eleventh space on the Box Office charts.
Filmmakers Previous Works
The writing-directorial team of Nick Cave and John Hillcoat had previously worked together seventeen years before The Proposition on the film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988). For a director of a film as good as The Proposition Hillcoat is relatively inexperienced with just three features credited to his name (the other being To Have and To Hold (1996) which Cave also wrote some music for). Likewise this is the first piece of writing for the screen Cave has done since 1988. Nick Cave's musical career serves as reference for the tempo and pace of The Proposition which in my opinion is much like an album. The Proposition is the first major success of the Cave-Hillcoat writing-directorial team and does not look to be the last. It has also been rumored that Cave and Hillcoat have already begun work on a new film to star Ray Winstone, who was seen here as Captain Morris Stanley.
Australian Market Horizon
After a dismal 2004 the Australian film industry bounced back incredibly in 2005. Success of films such as The Proposition, along with Little Fish, Look Both Ways and Wolf Creek helped more than double the total earnings of Australian films at the box office. The films mentioned above along with Hating Alison Ashley and Oyster Farmer all earned greater than $2 million dollars at the box office (only 2 films achieved this in 2004) of which all, bar The Proposition, received financial backing from The Film Finance Corporation. The Proposition ranked fifth on the list of highest money earners for the year. All of these facts show that Australian cinema-goers are very willing to see Australian films, but as long as they are films of good quality. With continued success of films such as The Proposition, Little Fish and Wolf Creek the future of Australian cinema looks decidedly healthy.
The Proposition’s Importance to Australian Cinema
The Western in Australian cinema these days is something of a rarity. Especially in last decade or so there have been very few western films. Besides the Tom Selleck vehicle Quigley Down Under (Simon Wincer, 1990), which is an American co-production anyway, the only notable western before The Proposition was Ned Kelly (Gregor Jordan 2003). Both fairly successful big budget films the two are a unique pairing of modern Australian westerns. This possible resurgence in Australian Westerns may be the beginning of a renaissance of the western film.
Many early Australian features and short films were based on stories of Australian rural bandits otherwise known as bushrangers. Some of the titles of the time, made mostly during the early part of the 20th Century up until the onset of World War One, included The Story Of The Kelly Gang (Charles Tait, 1906) (widely regarded as the worlds first feature film), Bushranging In Northern Queensland (Joseph Perry, 1904) and The Bushranger(“The Fitzgerald Family”, 1904). William D. Routt, in his article "More Australian than Aristotelian: The Australian Bushranger Film, 1904-1914"(source: www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/18/oz_western.html) says in regards to the choice of topic for their feature TSOTKG:
"The Tait brothers… clearly believed that there was an audience for an evening's entertainment based on filmed episodes drawn from the life of a bushranger, Ned Kelly. Undoubtedly they based their speculation on the proven popular success of staged versions of Kelly's career and of the exploits of other bushrangers."
This shows an early fascination with the bushranger in Australian culture which still exists today. It is perhaps for reasons like this that the Australian Western is seeing a new resurgence through films like Ned Kelly and The Proposition.
It is also interesting to note that the bushranger films were actually banned from being shown in Victoria. Director of The Proposition, John Hillcoat said in an interview credited above:
"It took the wind out of the whole birth of Australian cinema and the American Western took over. It would have been very interesting if it had continued. So this is kind of like a return of what possibly could have happened. The banning of the Western by the Victorian government seemingly stunted the growth of Australian Cinema and it is now films like The Proposition that are beginning to realise what could have become had this event not taken place.”
Although our film history was based on the western or bushranging tale the Australian Western today is an uncommon film and one in which the Australian public will often relish due to a cultural fondness of bushranging folklore on which our country has been raised.
Reading List and Bibliography
“More Australian than Aristotelian: The Australian Bushranger Film,
1904-1914”, 1999-2006, William D. Routt, http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/18/oz_western.html (site access April 23 2006)
The Story of the Kelly Gang
“The Story of the Kelly Gang”, 31 March 2006, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_the_Kelly_Gang (site access April 24 2006)
J.W. Lindt Photograph
Richardson, John, 2005, Murdoch University “The Figure in the Landscape: The Invention of Self and Nature” in Image Literacy, page 45-46
The Proposition Summary
“The Proposition (2005)”, 1990-2006, Internet Movie Database Inc.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421238 (site access April 20 2006)
Box Office Statistics
“The Proposition”, 1997-2005, Boschen, Paul http://www.moviemarshal.com/id-proposition.html (site access April 24 2006)
Box Office Statistics
“Movie Marshal”, 1997-2005, Boschen, Paul http://www.moviemarshal.com/ausweek13-10-05.html (site access April 24 2006)
Box Office Statistics
“2006 UK Box Office”, 1997-2005, Boschen, Paul, http://www.moviemarshal.com/boxuk2006.html (site access April 24 2006)
Box Office Statistics
“2005 Box Office Backgrounder”, 2006, Australian Film Commission, http://www.afc.gov.au/downloads/%20pubs/boxoffice%20backgrounder.pdf (site access April 24 2006)
Official Australian Website
“Sony Pictures – The Proposition”, 2006, Sony Pictures Digital Inc., http://sonypictures.com.au/movies/theproposition/index.html (site access April 21 2006)
Official UK Website
“THE PROPOSITION - Written by Nick Cave - Directed by John Hillcoat”, 2006, Sony Pictures Digital Inc., http://www.theproposition.co.uk (site access April 21 2006)
Official US Website
” thepropositionfilm.com”, 2006, Sony Pictures Digital Inc.,
http://www.thepropositionfilm.com (site access April 21 2006)
News Article
“Nick Cave's Brand New Proposition” Feb 16, 2006, Matt Pullman, http://www.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=9547266 (site access April 21 2006)
News Article
“Film rebates to double”, March 29, Emma Chambers, The Courier Mail, http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,18641395-7642,00.html (site access April 23 2006)
Review
“An excellent adventure”, 25 September 2005, The Age Company Ltd., http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/an-excellent-adventure/2005/09/22/1126982178206.html (site access April 23 2006)
News Article
“Playing to tough audiences”, August 15, 2005, The Age Company Ltd., http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/playing-to-tough-audiences/2005/08/14/1123957943720.html (site access April 23 2006)
Interview
“Nick Cave and John Hillcoat. The Proposition Interview”, 2002-2006 Future Movies (UK),
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking.asp?ID=160 (site access April 23 2006)
Interview
“Guy Pearce. The Proposition Interview”, 2002-2006 Future Movies (UK),
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking.asp?ID=159 (site access April 23 2006)
Review
“The Proposition Review (Movie/Film)”, 2002-2006 Future Movies (UK),
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=483 (site access April 23 2006)
Review
“The Proposition: triple j film reviews”, 2006, ABC,
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s1487340.htm (site access April 24 2006)
Review
“At the Movies: The Proposition”, 2006, ABC,
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1474241.htm (site access April 24 2006)
News Article
“Western Qld film to premiere in Toronto. 06/07/2005. ABC News Online”, 2005, ABC,
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1407665.htm (site access April 24 2006)
Review
“The Proposition movie review, In Film Australia”, 2005, In Film Australia, http://www.infilm.com.au/reviews/theproposition.htm (site access April 21 2006)
Review
“Twitch - TIFF Report: Proposition Review”, September 01, 2005, www.twitchfilm.net,
http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/003369.html (site access April 21 2006)