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THE PROPOSITION

What You Need To Know:

THE PROPOSITION is a violent, provocative western set in the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the Australian outback. The leader of the local police, Captain Stanley, captures Charlie Burns and his brother, Mikey, after a short gunfight. Charlie and Mikey, and their vicious brother Arthur, are wanted for rape and murder. Stanley tells Charlie that, unless Charlie hunts down and kills his psychotic older brother, Arthur, he will hang Mikey. As Charlie goes out in search of Arthur's new hideout in the rocky hills, Captain Stanley is desperately trying to shield his meek and innocent wife, Martha, from the brutality of his job and the brutality of the wilderness. Several violent twists heighten the moral dilemmas for both Stanley and Charlie.

The story in THE PROPOSITION has a mesmerizing profundity. Ultimately, the movie is a brilliantly acted story about the ubiquitous sinfulness and brutality of man. The filmmakers offer no easy solutions, however, although there are Christian allusions that hint at the real answer, Jesus Christ. THE PROPOSITION also contains plenty of strong foul language and graphic, bloody violence, and some strong sexual elements. Discerning viewers probably will find the negative content excessive.

Content:

(C, B, Ab, LLL, VVV, SS, NNN, AA, DD, M) Light Christian worldview about the sinfulness of man with hymns referring to paradise and Jesus heard and some moral elements wherein flawed police captain tries to maintain law and order, and "bring civilization" to the harsh wilderness while protecting his wife, but he needs help in the end to defeat the two most evil villains in the movie (every character is flawed in the story), plus cynical character makes a toast "to the God who has forsaken us"; about 43 mostly strong obscenities, one possible strong profanity and seven light profanities; very strong, sometimes graphic violence includes gunfight, man hits another man's face with butt of handgun, dead body, man accidentally shoots his toes off, aborigine's head blown half off, spear pierces man's body, man show in chest, man flogged to an inch of his life, images of pool of blood from flogging, man's back very bloody from flogging, man beaten harshly off screen and later is shown with his head all marked and bloody, attempted rape, and at least three other men shot dead; attempted rape and prostitutes sit around half naked; upper female nudity in house of prostitution, upper male nudity and one old photo during end credits shows aborigines fully naked; alcohol use and drunkenness; smoking and man eats opium; and, lying, revenge rebuked, police captain forces outlaw to go out and kill his vicious older brother in order to save the life of his younger brother, and justice is finally done but not without a cost and not without violence.

More Detail:

THE PROPOSITION is a violent, provocative western set in the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the Australian outback.

The movie opens in the middle of a frenzied gunfight between the local police and Charlie Burns and his younger brother, Mikey. Charlie and Mikey, and their vicious brother Arthur, are wanted for rape and murder. Charlie and Mikey are holed up in a sun-baked house of prostitution.

Captain Stanley, the leader of the local law, finally captures Charlie and Mikey. He hits Mikey with his gun butt and tells Charlie that, unless Charlie hunts down and kills his psychotic older brother, Arthur, he will hang Mikey.

As Charlie goes out in search of Arthur’s new hideout in the rocky hills, viewers learn that the brutal Captain Stanley is desperately trying to shield his meek and innocent wife, Martha, from the brutality of his job and the brutality of the wilderness. Not only does Stanley have to cope with the brutality of Arthur Burns and his gang, he also has to cope with a rebellion by the local aborigines and with his bloodthirsty bureaucratic boss. Several violent twists heighten the moral dilemmas for both Stanley and Charlie.

The story in THE PROPOSITION has a mesmerizing profundity. Captain Stanley discovers that the brutality of the human psyche spares no one, not even his wife. Even Charlie is shocked at the lengths to which his brother will go to exact revenge on Captain Stanley. A garden which Stanley has built around his house as a symbol of civilization serves an ironic metaphor. It also symbolizes the goodness inherent even in Captain Stanley, who fails to stop a mob from brutally having Mikey flogged within an inch of his life.

Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone and Emily Watson are excellent as Charlie, Captain Stanley and Martha. Winstone in particular gives an award quality performance, as does John Hurt as a poetic, elderly bounty hunter.

Ultimately, THE PROPOSITION is a brilliantly acted story about the ubiquitous sinfulness and brutality of man. The filmmakers offer no easy solutions, but there are Christian allusions that hint at the real answer, Jesus Christ.

THE PROPOSITION contains very strong, sometimes graphic violence, however. There is also plenty of crude foul language, as well as brief nudity and a brutal scene of attempted rape. Thus, although the movie’s semantic elements are somewhat positive, the syntactical elements are excessively explicit.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.