"This extraordinary film explores the elliptical nature of class, race, colonisation and family. It has at its core the harshness of the outback landscape reflected in the nature of man, a landscape which is almost surreally captured by cinematographer Benoit Delhomme." Margaret Pomeranz ABC'S AT THE MOVIES "There's so much beating and torturing and killing in this film that ... I think it just goes way over the top in terms of violence." David Stratton ABC'S AT THE MOVIES "A punishing tale of morality, loyalty and violence that, from the opening credits through to the final frame, emphatically rejects any romantic notions of Australia's colonial past." Fenella Kernebone SBS MOVIE SHOW "This is the film Ned Kelly should have been. The Proposition is a superbly crafted, hard-hitting drama about loyalty and conscience." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

"From the poetic cinematography of Benoît Delhomme through to John Hillcoat’s finely measured pacing, The Proposition is stately and beautiful. But it’s the film’s fire-and-brimstone themes (Cain & Abel via Apocalypse Now), shocking spurts of horrific violence and off-kilter characterisations that mark it as something truly extraordinary. The Proposition is a seething, haunting Australian western that rates as one of the films of the year." Erin Free FILMINK "Morality, loyalty, savagery and an early settler’s Outback landscape makes for a deeply atmospheric and haunting story of one brother, who is presented with a proposition: sacrifice his family allegiance by killing his oldest brother to save the life of his youngest brother. In this story, the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good; the law is corrupt and the corrupt are the law." Heather Taylor Johnson AUFS REVIEWS "The pace is a little too faithful to the conditions, and the ending has an air of inevitability. In Nick Cave’s world, everyone must pay for their sins eventually." Shane Brady BRISBANE NEWS

The Inside Story Be warned! "The Proposition" is a violent film. A violent and confronting film set in the harsh, sunbaked outback of Australia. Set in a time when violent acts were perpetrated on the community by gangs who took advantage of the isolation the countryside afforded. Justice was swift for those who were captured. A good flogging which flayed the skin off the criminals back and then the hangmans noose. It was a harsh life in the new country, compounded by not only the isolation but in many instances by the 'blacks' who were defending their sacred lands from the invading white man. While the film is beautifully shot, the cast are superb and the outback is gloriously portrayed many will feel all that is lost under the weight of so much violence. Many will question the need for it. Director John Hillcoat explains. "The film is an elegy of violence that runs thematically through the narrative, the central characters, the climate, the visual style, the light, the colour, and the soundtrack. Violence is the core of the frontier, as nations are built upon carnage. However we deliberately focus upon the aftermath, upon the actual consequences of violent actions. The few incidents that do take place on screen are like in real life; abrupt, messy, and quick yet can leave wounds that take centuries to heal. For the survivors it is far from pain free and there are no real heroes." That is the feeling one gets as the film closes. There are no heroes and probably no winners. Violence aside, there are a number of winning factors that make for good viewing. The first is the rugged, harsh, Australian outback which is beautifully captured by cinematographer Benoît Delhomme recipient of the 'Special Jury Prize for Cinematography' at the Chicago International Film Festival for his work on the film "What Time Is It There?". Some may see the 'outback' as the real star of "The Proposition". "There was an extreme natural beauty and harshness to both the remote locations and ferocious climate," says Hillcoat. "The landscape was a central character full of innate awe and mystery as though belonging to another world as opposed to another country. Temperatures of 50C and up, dust storms, mud baths, swarms of flies (one even had to get used to swallowing them), premonitions, and for some, encounters with ghosts, gave us all an apt taste for the times." The other big winner for this film is of course the cast. While there are some real 'standouts' it would be a harsh critic who couldn't praise all cast members for producing such emotive, gut wrenching performance. Guy Pearce got the role after a phone call from Nic Cave in February 2003. "I'd totally forgotten the film was out there," he recalls. "My agents had done what I'd asked them to do and told everyone to bugger off for a year." Pearce says it was one of his best ever experience in film-making. "Primarily the script was wonderful, but I also got to work with a fantastic group of people, and the understanding from John and Nick about what it was they wanted made for a very creative process." He also says ,"When we were making the film I was thinking about what it would do to you to make that choice, where would it lead you, who would you become. That's what I'm fascinated with in life: who we become because of the choices we have to make and the situations we're put in." When it came to working on "The Proposition" with director John Hillcoat and screen writer Nick Cave it appears he wasn't cast member impressed with experience. Take the comments of British actor Ray Winstone. "I can’t praise John enough. He’s a wonderful director, very visual, very artistic," Winstone said. "But he’s also wonderful at drawing out the best performances from his cast and it’s rare to have both those things. It was an absolute privilege to work with him and I really enjoyed making this film." And on Nic Cave he says, "I was surprised how well he relaxed into that process and how well he collaborated with us. He was really keen to hear our comments and ideas and to change things around accordingly." Another 'Brit' appearing in the film is Academy Award ® nominee ["Breaking The Waves"], Emily Watson. Emily revealed that "The Proposition" provided a special bonus for her. "I’ve long wanted to work with Ray and we had a great collaboration together on this film." As for working on the production she describes it as a great adventure. "It’s a wonderful adventure in the outback and I was the girl in the middle of it all, so I rather enjoyed that," she said. "The script was such a great read, it’s very rare that you come across a screenplay that has such an epic feel to it, that’s so imaginatively dark and scary." "The western has been somewhat neglected for a while, " says acclaimed international actor John Hurt. "This was a completely different take on that genre, set in a different place, so it was a sort of renaissance in a sense; a rebirth of a genre rather than a continuation of the same old thing." Hurt plays a wiley old bounty hunter named Jellon Lamb. Of his character he notes, "He’s a weasel of a man really, although he can be charming and he’s certainly well read. But things in his life have slipped and he’s allowed himself to become little more than a brigand." One actor audiences 'down under' will recognize is AFI Award winner David Wenham who plays the powerful land-owner Eden Fletcher. It's been a busy year for the highly accomplished [and awarded] Australian Actor who has also been seen in "Peaches". "The Proposition is a terrific story that’s beautifully told. It’s both lyrical and poetic, as well as dramatic," Wenham says. "The story was certainly what attracted me to the project. Everyone involved was very passionate about the film and we all wanted to do the best work we possibly could. The experience of making it was truly a pleasure." Besides the acting, the biggest standout is as I've already pointed out, the Australian Outback, beautifully shot by Benoît Delhomme. His contribution didn't go unnoticed by Hillcoat. "His connection with the landscape and with the light was quite amazing. It was a true collaboration and his work has enhanced the film entirely." For trivia buffs, here's something you might find interesting. Hillcoat says he was "inspired by Michael Ondaatje's 1970 book "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left Handed Poems", a strange hybrid of verse, novel and biography of American outlaw William H Bonney, who had been immortalised in numerous films, including Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. Hillcoat read the book as a teenager and approached Ondaatje to discuss securing the rights. "It was a good script and it was a great story. It was just that it was basically an American western dumped in Australia. When I read it, I thought everyone's been behaving properly. Where's the incompetence, where's the failure?", he asks. "Nick is very good with language and words, a narrative songwriter, and I was very confident that he would come up with a great story and some great characters," he says. "But we both initially thought of bringing in a professional screenwriter as well. Once Nick got started, however, that was it. Here's the punchline. Cave wrote the second script in two and a half weeks and had it in Hillcoats hands three weeks after he started writing it. Crew Bytes "THE PROPOSITION" was .......
directed by John Hillcoat ["Ghosts...Of The Civil Dead" and "To Have and to Hold" and the short films "The Blonde’s Date With Death" and "Frankie And Johnny"]; screenplay by Nick Cave ["Ghosts... of the Civil Dead"]; costume design by Margot Wilson ["Reckless Kelly", "Race The Sun", "The Thin Red Line" and "Japanese Story"]; production design by AFI Best Achievement in Production Design Award winner Chris Kennedy ["Ghosts...Of The Civil Dead", "To Have and To Hold", "Cosi", "The Missing" and "Dirty Deeds"]; edited by Jon Gregory ["Naked", "Secrets and Lies", "Donnie Brasco" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral"]; cinematography by Chicago International Film Festival 'Special Jury Prize for Cinematography' winner Benoît Delhomme ["The Merchant Of Venice", "Miss Julie", "With Or Without You" and "The Winslow Boys"]; original music by Nic Cave ["Ghosts... of the Civil Dead", "The Road to God Knows Where", "Jonas in the Desert" and "Shrek 2"] and Warren Ellis ["Praise"]; produced by Chiara Menage ["Remembrance Of Things Fast" and "Love Is The Devil"]; Cat Villiers ["Before The Rain", "Total Eclipse", "Saving Grace" and "Kiss Of Life"]; 2004 Australian Producers Association SPAA 'Producer Of The Year' Chris Brown ["The Company of Wolves", "Mona Lisa", "Blurred" and "Under The Rader"] and Jackie O'Sullivan ["Babies", "The Sound of One Hand Clapping" and "The Dead Letter Office"]. Casting About "THE PROPOSITION" stars .......
Guy Pearce ["L.A. Confidential", "Memento", "The Count of Monte Cristo", "The Hard Word" and "Two Brothers"]; Danny Huston ["Hotel", "21 Grams", "Birth" and "The Aviator"]; David Gulpilil ["Walkabout", "Crocodile Dundee", "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "The Tracker"]; Tom Budge ["Australian Rules", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Honourable Wally Norman" and "Take Away"]; Richard Wilson ["Deck Dogz"]; Tom E Lewis ["The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith", "The Naked Country", "The Nun and the Bandit", "Vacant Possession" and "The Life of Harry Dare"]; 2002 Variety Club 'Outstanding Performance' Award winner John Hurt ["Captain Corelli's Mandolin", "Dogville", "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone", "Hellboy" and "The Skeleton Key"]; 2003 Film Critics’ Circle of Australia and AFI Best Actor Awards winner David Wenham ["The Bank", "Gettin' Square", "Van Helsing" and "Three Dollars"]; 1997 London Film Critics Circle 'British Newcomer of the Year' Award winner Emily Watson ["Angela's Ashes", "Gosford Park", "Punch-Drunk Love", "Red Dragon" and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"] and RST Best Male Actor Award winner Ray Winstone ["Sexy Beast", "Last Orders", "Cold Mountain" and "King Arthur"] as Captain Stanley. What It's All About Captured after a shoot-out with troopers led by Captain Stanley, Charlie Burns is offered a proposition. He has till Christmas Eve to bring in his older brotherArthur or Captain Stanley will hang Charlies 14 year old brother Mikey. With no way out, Charlie sets out to find his brother who is camped in a seemingly impenetrable hideout in the harsh outback. It is a journey fraught with danger. The harsh outback has been baked dry by the summer sun, the blacks are fiercely protecting their sacred land from the white invaders and there is always the possibilty of crossing paths with a bounty hunter intent on collecting the reward placed on members of the notorious, marauding Burns gang. Charlie may have an agreement with Captain Stanley, but not with the townsfolk or hard-line land-owner Eden Fletcher. When news gets out that Stanley has done a deal, young Mikey is dragged from the jail and punished with a flogging. Fletcher siezes the moment and demands Mikey receive 100 lashes. Unaware of what has developed Charlie meantime has made it to the low hills where the Burns Gang is holed up. Tracked by the blacks, he is speared. Luck is on his side. Before he can be speared to death he is saved his brother. Nursed back to health he ponders how he will keep his brother Mikey from the gallows. Can he fulfill his part in Stanley's proposition? Time is quickly slipping away and he must act soon or lose his young brother. The arrival of a bounty hunter named Jellon Lamb provides the answer to his situation. The Verdict "Benoît Delhomme's remarkable cinematography is outstanding as are the cast but "The Proposition" is not for the fainthearted or those with an adversion to brutality or violence. "The Proposition" is being touted as a western, probably because of the resemblance Guy Pearces character Charlie Burns has to Clint Eastwood's role as 'The Preacher' in the 1985 film, "Pale Rider". There's no doubting this is a very powerful story, set in a period where violent acts were perpetrated upon isolated communities but there seems to be an overkill within "The Propositon" that deliberately sets out to continually confront the viewer. If you can handle that aspect you'll get a lot out of this remarkable film penned by Nic Cave. Worth a look at? It is sure is. Be warned though, parts of the film are very disturbing." The Cast

Guy Pearce Mick Roughan Shane Watt Ray Winstone Robert Morgan David Gulpilil Bryan Probets Richard Wilson Noah Taylor Oliver Ackland Danny Huston David Vallon Daniel Parker Carl Rush Gary Waddell Iain Gardiner Emily Watson Bogdan Koca Sue Dwyer Lance Medlin John Hurt David Wenham Rodney Boschman Boris Brkic Leah Purcell Tom Budge Tom E Lewis Ralph Cotterill Max Age Jerry Solomon Jeremy Madrona Jae Mamuyac Ned Rose

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Charlie Burns Mad Jack Bradshaw John Gordon Captain Stanley Sergeant Lawrence Jacko Officer Dunn Mike Burns Brian O’Leary Patrick Hopkins Arthur Burns Tom Cox Henry Clark Robert Borland Officer Davenport Officer Matthews Martha Stanley Paul Broussard Mrs Broussard Dan O’Reilly Jellon Lamb Eden Fletcher Tobey Officer Halloway Queenie Samuel Stoat Two Bob Dr Bantrey Thommo Blinky Asian Prostitute Asian Prostitute Old Aboriginal

The Crew Directed by John Hillcoat Written by Nick Cave Produced by /Chris Brown/Chiara Menage/Jackie O'Sullivan/Cat Villiers Original Music by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Cinematography by Benoît Delhomme Film Editing by Jon Gregory & Ian Seymour Casting by Nikki Barrett & Gary Davy Production Design by Chris Kennedy Art Direction by Bill Booth & Marita Mussett Set Decoration by Jill Eden Costume Design by Margot Wilson Run Time 104 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - UK FILM COUNCIL - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved