Page 1 of the proposition

interesting film, and i`m curious what other people think. although having just watched `the hills have eyes` before it, i genuinely believe the next person i see is either going to cave my forehead in with an axe, rape my girlfriend or turn me into a cold-blooded homicidal killer... or maybe all three. sorry, but what is it with all this brazenly sadistic ultra-violence spewing across our screens at the moment? during `hills`, when mom was being eaten (having been gut-shot earlier) i swear pure gore-vomit came out of my ears.

even the trailer for `hostel` makes me want to either lock myself in a cupboard forever or kill everyone else in the entire world so they can`t get me... but maybe that`s the point: make you sharpen a screwdriver, order dvds, threaten the postman and never, ever leave the house. a self-sustaining circle-jerk of pure self-destructive terror. at the moment, my local multiplex feels more like a gothic slaughterhouse than a celluoid sanctuary. the next pixar fiasco will feel like a blizzard of calm when it arrives.

anyway, i highly recommend this film for the patient viewer, as it contains some really extraordinary performances: ray winstone has always annoyed me, his binary extremes of sobbing man-child and impulsive bestial mensch were boring about 15 years ago, but he tries something different here and it`s probably the best performance he`s ever given. emily watson and danny huston haunt the mind also, and david wenham is camply perfect as (from what i could discern) an authoritarian lizard.

the violence i already mentioned, but it remains in the mind, perhaps because it is, for once, truly violating (as it was in that notorious midnight trailer scene in `hills). not just a judder or a stiffled scream but genuine disgust. if you liked `a history of violence`, you`ll love this aussie-western-spin (i`ve just chewed my own fist off saying that, and am now typing with one hand, whilst staunching the bleeding by gnawing the severed stubs between my gritted teeth. hey, i think i have an opening scene for `the proposition 2: martha`s revenge!`)

--Mike

Haven`t got much time to write at the minute, but I thought The Proposition was excellent. It was a strange blend, with an often sombre slow paced narrative, complimented by extreme violence. But I just really enjoyed it; I`m just not sure why.

Not seen "... the Hills" but really looking forward to it, and `Hostel` is a decent film, but I feel slightly overrated. I`m not sure, maybe it needs another watch, because perhaps I didn`t `get it`. But its by no means the film I believed it was going to be (and actually not that horrific apart from a couple of scene). Personally, I preferred Cabin Fever.

Quote:
as it was in that notorious midnight trailer scene in `hills
Did anyone else find the trailer scene that shocking? Personally I thought it was quite tame. The rape had pretty much been cut out by the MPAA anyway and from what you`re left with it looks like he`s humping her leg. Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange were far more extreme and shocking, as were the more recent The Devils Rejects and Wolf Creek.

Really looking forward to The Proposition. :D

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`.....be nice until it`s time to not be nice`

What`s bestial mensch? :o
Was really looking forward to this and thought it was good. Unfortunately, not the `almost classic` I was expecting and hoping for. Some very good performances all round - you could feel the heat, was almost swatting the files and could almost smell the stench of sweat.

Ste

Watched the proposition last night, my thoughts afterwards were "good, but sooo could have been great" the whole feel and look of the film was good, I think they could have added a little more depth to the characters of Arthur and his gang. It just all felt a little too rushed to me. I also didn`t think it was that violent, it just had the odd moment.

I watched both Hostel and the hills earlier this week and must say, of the two I prefered the hills. I agree with the comment about the trailer scene - I`m sure we`ll get an Unrated DVD release at some point (not that i`m sick or anything :/ )

"Dont mention the zed word"

I`ve heard nothing but good reviews for this film so I`m intrigued to check it out. Pearce and Winstone always deliver accomplished performances and it`s nice to see a gritty Western back on our screens again.

--
We do not tell time, time tells us.
My DVD Collection ¦ Final Cut Films

I thought it was a very good film; there were stunning performances from the three male leads, especially Danny Huston, the Australian scenery looked fantastic (even the phallic `look-out` of Arthur`s gang!) and the heat and humidity was palpable. I found it an uncompromisingly violent (which was all contextualised) western although Nick Cave's script sounded clunky at times.


My Top 20 Horror Movies ---- My DVD Collection
Long live the new flesh!