The Proposition: Consider It A “Best Western”

Westerns are by far one of the hardest genres to pull off. A thorough amount of "side" detail goes into making the backbone of the story, generating a plethora of moving pieces. But, when the plains' stars align, a great combination of rustic screenwriting and brutal violence can blend together to formulate a story that punches us in the stomach and then knees us in the face – with us asking for "more please." Nick Cave and John Hillcoat's The Proposition brings full force writing, acting and cinematography to life on the screen and lets us see that an Aussie Western is just as deserving as any other. 

To start off, a fallen family story like this requires an ensemble cast that can bounce off of each other in each scene. Each segment of the story needs to be measured correctly by our director and executed precisely by the cast – done here in complete satisfaction by Pearce, Huston, Hurt, Winstone and Watson. Mr. Huston puts an extra, subtle flair into each of his scenes that embodies a "calm killer" creepiness that not even Eastwood would want to touch. Across the board, our cast hits their high notes and nails each desert gaze with "thousand yard stare" grace. But professional performances are not the only butter in this batch of gritty goodness. 

It's safe to say that Cave is one hell of a talented human being. Insanely weird? Yes. But that is what makes artists creative and cool, right? Either that or cool facial hair and consistent drinking and/or smoking. Cave's screenplay is an editor's dream as it has next to no unnecessary dialogues or sequences that do not develope the story, or its characters, further. Cave also knows how these characters would speak to each other, especially with the terrain bearing down on them on a daily basis. These characters are tired and slow-moving, but the Burns family forces them to hustle to "civilize the land." Alongside a sharply penned script, Cave's score is just plain scary (in the best of ways of course). It's as if Aurthur Burns was whispering on some of the tracks – a ghostly tonality in each piece that makes us want to find civilization as soon as possible. 

Hillcoat and DP Benoit Delhomme add one final brush stroke to their story. Not only do their long lens shots encompass the beautiful Australian terrain, they loosely shadow Andrew Wyeth paintings – this happens more than once. Let's be honest here, I could watch Emily Watson walk through a field all day with this team behind the lens. 

The Proposition is an example of not just how to make a good western, but how to unfold a great story with a nucleus of conflict and confusion. Our moral characters all battle with "should I follow through with bad to end up with good in the end," thus humanizing them and enabling them to be relatable. We see this juxtaposed with the rest of the Burns clan to get a clearly defined term of what it means to be evil. In the end, this is mostly thanks to Mr. Nick Cave and is why this western deserves all its glory. So, the next time you think about Unforigven, think twice.