Here's an Australian Western steeped deeply in marinara and done in the tradition of the sleaziest of the spaghetti genre. It's a gritty, violent, and truth be told, fly infested film that sears your viewing pleasure in a visceral display of blood and guts that will leave you as squeamish as it's victims. It even throws in a little Darwinian Theory for those in a scientific mood, while vast expanses of dusty, yellow desert landscapes play havoc with your vision throughout. It's not the easiest of films to watch, and while the real villains of the piece, David Wenham's Fletcher, John Hurt's Lamb, Danny Huston's Arthur, get their due, so does just about everyone else, innocent or otherwise. The ending in fact could have gone either way, and I was fully expecting Guy Pearce's Charlie Burns to blow his brains out in response to his brother's question - "What are you going to do now"? Had he put Arthur out of his misery, that would have been the way to go, an alternate ending perhaps even more powerful than the real one. I give it marks for stepping outside the traditional Western box, but weak stomachs be advised, there's no Butch and Sundance dialog here to ease the way.
Review of The Proposition
