365 Movies Day #8 "The Proposition"

One of the greatest modern westerns out there and it seems to have disappeared quickly into obscurity. I've been a huge fan of Guy Pearce since "Memento" and I think he is one of the most underrated actors working today. His performance as the lead, Charlie Burns, sent to track down his sociopathic brother, Arthur (chilling played by Danny Huston who most Americans will remember from the Wolverine movie), is wonderful. Rounding out the cast is the very talented Ray Winstone who instigates the whole mess in order to civilize his little part of Australia. Emily Watson also gives a wonderful performance as Winstone's wife.

It's a very character driven movie following the Burns brothers and Captain Stanley (Winstone) in equal parts, examining the wildness of Australia and it's impact on all of their psyches. Good western action. Amazing chracterizations. A solid film. My one complaint is that John Hurt has a fantastic character that is only loosely tied into the script and somewhat wasted.

If you like westerns, this is a MUST see. If you don't like westerns, what's wrong with you?

THE PROPOSITION ON IMDB