Viewers Can’t Stop Praising This Forgotten Western Gem from 2006

Viewers are rediscovering The Proposition, a brutal yet beautiful Australian Western that first came out nearly two decades ago, and they can’t stop talking about it.

Directed by John Hillcoat and written by musician and screenwriter Nick Cave, this 2005 film is being praised all over again for its raw storytelling, striking visuals, and unforgettable performances.

The movie stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, John Hurt, and David Wenham. It was filmed in the dusty landscapes of Winton, Queensland, giving it a haunting and authentic outback feel.

Set in the 1880s, the story follows Charlie Burns, played by Pearce, who is forced into a terrible choice. After a bloody shootout, Charlie and his younger brother Mikey are captured. A police captain named Stanley, played by Winstone, offers Charlie a shocking deal. if he kills his older brother Arthur, a wanted murderer, both he and Mikey will go free.

What follows is a grim and emotional journey through the harsh Australian desert, filled with violence, guilt, and moral conflict.

Critics have long praised The Proposition for its honesty and style. Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars, calling it “a movie you cannot turn away from; it is so pitiless and uncompromising, so filled with pathos and disregarded innocence, that it is a record of those things we pray to be delivered from.”

At the time of its release, the film received an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 73 on Metacritic. Critics loved how it mixed the beauty of the outback with the brutality of its story. The Boston Globe’s Ty Burr described it as “a near-masterpiece of mood and menace.” Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly wrote that it was “a pitiless yet elegiac Australian Western as caked with beauty as it is with blood.”

Australian critics were just as impressed. Margaret Pomeranz from At the Movies called it “an extraordinary film [that] explores the elliptical nature of class, race, colonisation and family.” Her co-host David Stratton added that it was “a fascinating depiction of the outback in this period” and said that Danny Huston’s performance was “extraordinary.”

Even now, years later, movie lovers online are calling it one of the best Westerns ever made.

One viewer wrote, “soooooo gooood! also, so intense nearly unbearable and the moral and ethical pain as well.” Another said, “Just saw this, really terrific, but grim. Unexpectedly ferocious performance by Danny Huston.” Many agree that it’s an underrated gem, with one fan commenting, “Such an underrated movie. Guy Pierce and Ray Winstone are fantastic in this. And the score and cinematography are stars of their own.”

Some even compare it to literary masterpieces, with one viewer saying, “This is the closest cinema has ever came to BLOOD MERIDIAN.”

With its haunting soundtrack, bleak beauty, and unforgettable performances, The Proposition has earned its place as a modern Western classic. It’s not an easy film to watch, it’s violent, heavy, and morally complex, but it’s one that stays with you long after the credits roll.

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