Movieo
Poster for The Proposition

The Proposition

This land will be civilized.

2005 · 1h 44m · R Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
Directed by John Hillcoat

Seen it?

Overview

In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hunt down and kill his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. Venturing into one of the Outback's most inhospitable regions, Charlie faces a terrible moral dilemma that can end only in violence.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
85%
Tomatometer
Fresh

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.

Ben Walters, Time Out
Fresh

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.

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Rotten

It doesn't offer much that hasn't already been said about lawless frontier towns, bonds between outlaws or the settling of the West.

John Hartl, Seattle Times
Rotten

By the end, it all pays off exactly the way a hundred earlier Westerns did.

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh

In-your-face combativeness is The Proposition's power, and for those of you who value your westerns, the effect is not unlike that of The Wild Bunch or Unforgiven.

Peter Debruge, Miami Herald

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films