The Proposition (2005)
88%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 13 wins & 30 nominations
Brutal, unflinching, and violent, but thought-provoking and with excellent performances, this Australian western is the one of the best examples of the genre to come along in recent times
If you’re in the mood for a Western that’s as gritty and brutal as it is beautiful, then The Proposition is the movie for you. This Australian gem takes you on a journey through the unforgiving Outback, where family loyalty and revenge collide in a way that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Sure, it’s not breaking any new ground in terms of Western tropes, but who cares when it’s this well-executed? Plus, it’s got Guy Pearce and Danny Huston giving powerhouse performances that will stick with you long after the credits roll. So grab some popcorn and settle in for a wild ride. Yeehaw!
Production Company(ies)
Fine Line Features, Capitol Films, Channel Four Films,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Queensland, Australia
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong grisly violence, and for language
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, Aboriginal
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 19, 2006
Genre(s)
Drama/Action
Keyword(s)
starring Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, John Hurt, David Wenham, directed by John Hillcoat, written by Nick Cave, drama, action, western, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Brian Tallerico, Marjorie Baumgarten, Ben Walters, Joe Morgenstern, John Hartl, Roger Moore, Richard Propes, Yasser Medina, Leigh Paatsch, David Lamble, C.H Newell, MPAA rating R, lawman, renegade, moral dilemma, violence, revenge, Australian outback, family loyalty, British colonials, Kantian philosophy, Sam Peckinpah, cat o’ nine tails, Dolby, produced by Chris Brown, Cat Villiers, Chiara Menage, Jackie O’Sullivan
Worldwide gross: $5,048,693
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,445,091
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,053
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 811,896
US/Canada gross: $1,903,434
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,806,912
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,954
US/Canada opening weekend: $32,681
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $48,193
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,223
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $29,493,141
Production budget ranking: 1,165
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $15,882,057
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$37,930,107
ROI to date (est.): -84%
ROI ranking: 1,917
Ray Winstone – Capt. Stanley
Emily Watson – Martha Stanley
Danny Huston – Arthur Burns
John Hurt – Jellon Lamb
David Wenham – Eden Fletcher
Chris Brown – Producer
Cat Villiers – Producer
Chiara Menage – Producer
Jackie O’Sullivan – Producer
John Hillcoat – Director
Nick Cave – Writer
Director(s)
John Hillcoat
Writer(s)
Nick Cave
Producer(s)
Chris Brown, Cat Villiers, Chiara Menage, Jackie O’Sullivan
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
13 wins & 30 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (110) | Rotten (19)
Any movie that can cling to your memory with as much brutal power as this fantastic film is unquestionably a proposition worth taking.
March 24, 2007
Brian Tallerico
UGO
TOP CRITIC
Despite perpetual rumors of its demise as a genre, the Western is alive and well in the Australian outback.
June 24, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A beautifully shot tracker’s western that brings the Fordian poles of garden and desert to bear on the bushrangers’ Outback, this is also a revenge drama of substantial horror.
June 24, 2006
Ben Walters
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A visionary tale of a fragile civilizing impulse crushed by family loyalty and a lust for revenge in the vast Outback of the late 19th century.
June 22, 2006
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
It doesn’t offer much that hasn’t already been said about lawless frontier towns, bonds between outlaws or the settling of the West.
June 9, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
By the end, it all pays off exactly the way a hundred earlier Westerns did.
June 9, 2006 | Rating: 2/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
May be one of the most realistic portrayals of how the West was really won.
September 20, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
I know by heart the revisionism of this western. [Full review in Spanish]
July 24, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
This self-styled “Australian western” is powerful, punishing drama of the highest class.
May 26, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
As stark a meditation on British colonials marooned in a hellish land as any film since Picnic at Hanging Rock.
May 7, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
A filthy, disturbing, and poignant Western about a whole host of themes from the Kantian philosophy of morality to the boundaries of love and family.
May 3, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
C.H. Newell
Father Son Holy Gore
John Hillcoat’s violence-probing Western feels as uncompromisingly bleak, royally widescreen and graphically violent as any Sam Peckinpah opus – a sunburned, grimy-nailed saga of point-blank executions and blood wrung from a cat o’ nine tails.
September 17, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap…
Plot
In the harsh outback of 1880s Australia, the brutal Burns brothers are wanted for a vicious crime. When Charlie Burns is captured, the officer arresting makes a startling proposition in order to end the cycle of violence: Charlie must hunt down and murder his violent older brother Arthur, in order to save his youngest brother from the noose.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast includes Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, John Hurt, and David Wenham.
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