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'The Proposition': A harsh tale of loyalty and betrayal
by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

Saturated in a brusque, no-frills brutality, the Australian Western "The Proposition" makes Sam Peckinpah look like a wuss. Nick Cave, drawing from the same dark place that drives his music, has screenwritten a harsh, unsparing movie about the eternal clash between that which is civilized and that which is not. With mankind somewhere in between. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
In the Australian Outback in the late 19th century, Captain Stanley captures fugitive brothers Charley and Mikey Burns at a scene of bloody rape and murder. Informing Charley that he must kill his older brother, Arthur, in order to be set free, Stanley drags Mikey to a decrepit jailhouse while he waits for Charley to carry out the deed.

FILM FACTS ...

First Look Pictures

'The Proposition'

Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, John Hurt, Ray Winstone, David Wenham
Run time: 104 minutes
Release date: May 5, 2006
Rating: R for strong grisly violence, and for language.
See showtimes

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B+
"Peckinpah would like The Proposition. More importantly, so would Clint Eastwood."

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Austin American-Statesman: 4 of 5 stars
"Filled with dreadful beauty, the story is streamlined and pointed like myth, simple and fiercely direct."

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The Palm Beach Post: B+
"The metaphorical — and meteorological — heat figure into the oppressive feel of this film, a tribute to the roots of this beautiful, but unruly land."