Nick Cave's Western

I don't know if I've ever blogged about a movie before. But I also don't know many movies I've been affected by as much as 'The Proposition.'

I don't watch too many Westerns, a genre that is perhaps overshadowed nowadays. But the 'Proposition' weaved in-and-out of the Western genre, occasionally following and other times breaking traditional genre norms. In the end, I think Nick Cave's screenplay was even better than the music he wrote for the film.

The premise of the film, as outlined in the trailer is that outlaws Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) and his brother, Mikey, have been caught by Captain Mo Stanley (Ray Winstone). The entire Burns gang is wanted for the slaughtering of the Hopkins family. But the Burns brother still at large, Arthur Burns, is the ringleader and orchestrator of the slaughtering. Captain Stanley makes a gamble and offers Charlie and Mikey freedom if Charlie tracks down and kills Arthur.

Here are the parts that I think that made this Western unique that I can't stop thinking about:
1) The lack of dialogue leaves most of the events open to subjective interpretation. The amazing cinematography also contributes to this.
2) Captain Stanley makes his deal with Charlie, knowing that the whole town wants all of the Burns' dead. Consequently, when his wife, a dear friend of Eliza Hopkins, and the villagers discover his plot and opt to flog (the young kid) Mikey instead, Stanley is left in desperation mode, having briefly lost everything. The flogging scene is real hard to handle, but ultimately shows how the town has turned into animals just as bad as Arthur (who is even called a dog).
3) Stanley's tragic wife, Martha, played by Emily Watson. A woman of little dialogue, she is a sad, tragic figure. Dominated by the sadness and fear of what happened to Mrs. Hopkins (she was killed with a child in her belly).
4) Pearce's character Charlie. You never know what he's going to do with his brother when he finds him. He's clearly torn between keeping his family together and ending Arthur's violent rampage, but he never voices any of it.
5) The ending. Phenomenal. But so hard to take. Martha's greatest fears come to a head, Captain Stanley is rendered useless, and Charlie has to make his ultimate decision.

Such a great film. But be warned, it is real hard to handle. It has its violent parts, especially the ending. Also, Guy Pearce looks just like Viggo Mortensen in this movie.