Big Picture Big Sound

This land will be civilized.

The Film

Going into this review, I had only a vague notion of what John Hillcoat's The Propositon was about. I'd seen the film's attention-getting trailer, but that was about the extent of it. Quite simply, that's because The Proposition is not a film that gets talked about at the water cooler, and neither Guy Pearce nor Ray Winstone nor Danny Huston are (yet) the household names they so deserve to be. And now that I've seen the film, I can tell you it's definitely not for everyone. It's also not something to watch if you're looking for a little pick-me-up. But if you're the right kind of person in the right kind of mood, The Proposition will blow a hole right through you.

Set in the British-occupied Australian outback, The Proposition offers a unique twist on the Western genre, surrounding its "civilized" downtown area with a vast expanse of nothingness, teeming with spear-carrying (and spear-throwing) aboriginal natives. As we learn quickly in the film, Guy Pearce stars as Charlie Burns, big brother to Mikey and younger brother to Arthur - a.k.a. The Burns Gang. Ray Winstone stars as Captain Stanley, the put-upon British law man charged with bringing these three outlaws to justice. After capturing Mikey and Charlie, Captain Stanley decides to hold Mikey in prison until Christmas Day - when he'll be hanged. Hanged, unless Charlie agrees to Captain Stanley's proposition: find and kill his own murderous brother Arthur in exchange for Mikey's freedom.

Although the trailer and cover art suggest an action-packed blood bath, The Proposition is a slow burn of a film with plenty of tense, quiet moments - and a surprising number of tender, romantic moments between Captain Stanley and his wife, played delicately by Emily Watson. Rounding out the cast is the great John Hurt, who turns in a brilliant, scenery-chewing performance as a - well, you'll see.

The Picture

The Proposition represents the first Blu-ray double dip release from up-and-coming FirstLook Studios. This release, billed as a "Special Edition" appears to differ from its predecessor only in the sense that this new Blu-ray edition contains a bonus DVD of the film, whereas the previous release did not. Whether or not that qualifies as "special" is, I suppose, up to you.

As for its video presentation, The Proposition looks startling good - especially when you consider its bargain bin price tag. The outback setting leaves the film awash in browns and yellows, but skin tones look spot-on, detail is wonderfully crisp at times, and the lushly-decorated oasis of the Stanleys' home delivers a welcome injection of color and cleanliness to the film's otherwise gritty and fly-infested aesthetic. This 1080p presentation also does a wonderful job of illustrating the contrast between Charlie Burns' sickly and mottled face with that of the tanner and healthier (albeit equally sorrowful) face of Ray Winstone's Captain Stanley.

The Sound

Audio comes courtesy of the film's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, and here I was somewhat disappointed. Dialogue is perfectly clear and the front sound stage offers plenty of separation, but the surround channels and subwoofer have depressingly little to do. For example, during the opening gun fight, Charlie and Mikey are trapped in a building with gun fire exploding through the walls from every angle. Unfortunately, the sound of the bullets, the breaking of glass and the splintering of wood is largely confined to the front three speakers; very few little is heard in the rears and the bass channel could use a bit more oomph. Perhaps it's the Guy Pearce connection, but this scene instantly brought to mind - and had me longing for - the audio prowess displayed during the hotel shootout in Warner's L.A. Confidential, one of my favorite surround sound demo scenes. In the end, The Proposition's lossless soundtrack is perfectly adequate, but it's also nothing to write home about.

The Extras

As mentioned earlier, FirstLook's new "Special Edition" is merely special for its inclusion of a bonus DVD of the film. The Blu-ray extras mirror those of the previous release, which includes a Hillcoat/Cave commentary, deleted scenes, the theatrical trailer, plus a collection of ten making-of featurettes. The cast and crew interviews contained within are quite good and largely devoid of the typical EPK fluff, so fans will definitely want to give them a look.

Final Thoughts

With its compelling screenplay (and haunting music) by Nick Cave, The Proposition is rather unique in its dearth of "good guys" and "bad guys." In this film, the line between right and wrong, good and evil - well it may as well just not exist. I will say this: The Proposition pulls no punches. It's brutal, it's gritty, it's incredibly tense and you're never quite sure where it's headed. It doesn't talk down to its audience nor does it conclude by tying everything together neatly with a pretty red ribbon. Instead it cuts the ribbon to shreds and shoots holes through the box, leaving you with the thankless job of picking up the pieces. It may not be a gift you wanted, but it's one you'll not soon forget.

If all that sounds OK with you, FirstLook's new Blu-ray edition makes The Proposition an intriguing, well, you know.

Product Details

• Actors: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt, Emily Watson, David Wenham
• Director: John Hillcoat
• Audio/Languages: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English)
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: FirstLook Studios
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 14, 2010
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• List Price: $19.98
• Extras:
  • Audio commentary with John Hillcoat & Nick Cave
  • 10 Behind-the-Scenes featurettes
  • Deleted scenes
  • Photo gallery
  • Theatrical trailer