About Me

So yeah, I'm Zach and I'm a bit of a film nerd that's willing to share his thoughts. My earlier entries, starting with the first and ending roughly around the late sixties, are pretty amateurish, though. Other than those, however, you should find my thoughts to be at least *somewhat* interesting...hopefully... =P

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Entry#50: The Proposition


Trailer

By the 1960's, the western genre had begun to grow stale and boring to most movie-goers. Instead of being cinematic and stylistic films, the western had become nothing more than a penny-dreadful genre. Arguably, one could say the westerns of the late 50's and early 60's were, with few exceptions, only made for quick cash. However, in 1964, a little-known director made a brand new kind of western, with a very humble budget and a relatively unknown actor as the leading character. While this could have been just another "quick cash" film, its style, brutality, and rich characters made it one of the best westerns of all-time, if not one of the best films of all-time. This movie was A Fistful of Dollars - it paved the way for Clint Eastwood's career and led to Sergio Leone , the director, to becoming one of the greatest film directors the world has ever seen. This shock to the system led to a lot of westerns trying to be as gritty or romantic as Leone's westerns, but none have since been able to reach this cinematic genius's quality.

The Proposition, directed by relatively unknown John Hillcoat, is the only western I've ever seen that's even come close to being of the same quality as a Leone western. The atmosphere, the brutality, the black and gray morality, the characters, the romanticism, the pacing - this film is just fantastic. Not only is it all of those traits and more, but the film tries to bring the same shock and innovation that Leone films brought - only, now, to an audience more sensitized to violence. And you know what? They did it. It's not on the same cinematic par as a Leone film, but The Proposition was able to shock me while creating a great narrative.

The film is also original in its setting. Instead of taking place in the American Old West, the film's setting is that of the Australian outback during the 1880's which, as seen, was just as dangerous and gutsy as the American West. This change of scenery also adds some green to the typical Western wasteland, which is an interesting visual change that ensures the wasteland never seems too barren, which can be a problem for some westerns.

The characters, as well, are all rich and interesting in their own respective way. They're not necessarily new, but this is just fine because the old archetypes are just as fascinating and suave as they were 60+ years ago. The outlaw brothers, the lawman seeking justice, the heroine fearing the future, the corrupt politician, etc. Yet, despite the old archetypes, the characters are given a fresh breath of life thanks to the wonderful performances and the engrossing direction of John Hillcoat.

Despite how much I love this film, it does have some knocks in its virtually perfect execution. For starters, the film does get pretty slow in some spots, which wouldn't be too large of a problem if it weren't for a few character choices. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say our lead character spends a lot of time in a certain area - like, practically the entirety of the second half of the film. There is some good character drama, but it feels like the movie just wants to add in more screen time.

Regardless of a small pacing error in the second half, the rest of the film is just amazing. The score is melodramatic, yet just as innovative as Morricone's scores were for Leone's westerns. The characters are all great,the visuals have a great flair and gritty look, the brutality brings realism to the setting, its execution is practically romantic - the film is just amazing. It's no Leone picture, but The Proposition certainly comes close.

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