#the proposition

[cimmerian-war-shrine]

[filmap]

The Proposition John Hillcoat. 2005

Caves Rangeland Rifts, Corfield QLD 4733, Australia See in map

See in imdb

[cha0ticr0b0tic]

For my mutuals who are into Westerns: you guys have got to check out how Australia has taken and re-invented the genre, they’re somehow even more fucked up than American Westerns. There’s a real Gothic sensibility hanging over the ones I’ve seen – some of that is due to the vast bleakness of the outback, but it’s mostly due to the understanding that much like in America, colonization damaged this place and the scars are still visible. It’s also an incredibly versatile genre – the Mad Max films count, for starters, and the Australian Gothic is a subgenre all its own. Nick Cave is a major contributor. IDK I think it’s very cool to explore what Westerns look like outside of the US

[steampunkforever]

The Spaghetti Western is probably one of the more definitive crossovers of noir themes into the Western. We were done idealizing how the west was won, and could therefore hire italian men to write cowboys who hadn't taken a bath as the morally gray heroes of this ADR Sicilian paradise as they shot first with no moral justification and won the afffections of love interests wearing anachronistic eye makeup.

Since then we've solidified the western noir genre up to and including No Country For Old Men enough that Taylor Sheridan has built his career on doing just the one genre, like a Wes Anderson of paramount streaming shows targeted at leather recliner dads. This said, the grit of the spaghetti western lives on in non-western noir genres, including the 2000s explosion of Australian Cowboy movies, which includes our film of the week, The Proposition.

Obviously Aussie Cowboys were a thing before the 2000s (Man from Snowy River, most notably) but there was a short spurt of really good ones in the 2000s that I frankly do not have enough cultural knowledge of what Australia was going through then to understand the "why" behind. Maybe it was Hugh Jackman's fault. In any case, The Proposition came out of it.

The titular The Proposition in the movie is simple: the main character (played by the ever so babygirl Guy Pierce) is the middle child in a gang of three outlaws told to find and kill his older outlaw brother or else they will kill his younger brother. This takes us on a brooding journey through the Australian wilderness as we witness atrocities against native populations and the conflict between civilization and the rot within men's souls. If this isn't a proper western I don't know what this is.

The rot really does consume with this movie. It's a thoughtful exploration of savagery and civilization. It's a movie full of flies. It makes you want to brush your teeth once you finish it. It ends with profound violence that makes you sit back and ponder things.

Watch it, it's a movie that doesn't need to give you answers to the understated yet weighty questions it poses. Also Guy Pierce gets Guy Pierced.

[pasta-pardner]

THE PROPOSITION (2005, Australia)

⤿ Bathing scenes

[synkverv]

THE PROPOSITION (2005) dir. john hillcoat

RICHARD WILSON as michael "mikey" burns

[obsidian-monarch]

Your guy pearce makes me horny and sad tag made me laugh SO HARD because samesies

when did i receive this ask

can you blame me tho

[sinclair-enterprises]

The scene from The Proposition (2005) that stayed with me the most.

[wisdomfish]

Whatever came over our nature by the devil’s first temptation, whatever gains strength in us by the devil’s daily propositions, Christ died to destroy it all. “He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all wickedness, and purify for himself a special people, zealous of good works.”

John Owen

[spookydana45]

Kenneth Branagh ✨🫶💙

some part of his career life, happy birthday sir!!!

[cimmerian-war-shrine]

[ixix82]

"The Proposition" - Carlos Barahona Possollo

[finemaleactors]

Guy Pearce and Danny Huston

[cinemajunkie70]

A very happy birthday to Emily Watson!

[pasta-pardner]

THE PROPOSITION (2005, Australia)

"What happened at the Hopkins place was unforgivable. I have never seen such a sickening sight."

[synkverv]

THE PROPOSITION (2005) dir. john hillcoat

the burns brothers + saying each other's names