The Proposition 2005

Peter Debruge, Miami Herald: 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. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: It's a terrific, kinetic experience, and it's also a brilliant showcase for a crackerjack ensemble of great actors. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: 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. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: It doesn't offer much that hasn't already been said about lawless frontier towns, bonds between outlaws or the settling of the West. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: Really intense stuff. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The movie gets at something primal in the pit of your stomach, something that speaks of loyalty and betrayal, of men's souls -- or the lack thereof. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Had Cave written The Proposition as a song, the vague grotesquerie and simple, primal storytelling might've been an asset. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: It's fitting that The Proposition is set Down Under, because in many ways, it's a reverse Western. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: A near-masterpiece of mood and menace, and one that deserves to be seen on the largest screen possible. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: The Proposition is no bloodier than many a schlocky horror flick, but the violence feels real and ruthless, carrying a much more visceral impact. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Murder ballad for the slice-and-dice age, a film of sensitive artistry laced with gore. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The bonds of family are the centerpiece of this highly uneven, hyperviolent film. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: Over the top, Down Under. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: An intense piece of wilderness ugliness that mixes family, honor, decency, revenge, racism and mindless blood lust in a manner that satisfies even if it never astounds. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A pitiless yet elegiac Australian Western as caked with beauty as it is with blood. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: It's consistently compelling and thought-provoking. This one will stay with you, and despite its disturbing moments, you'll welcome it. Read more

F.X. Feeney, L.A. Weekly: The Proposition is a very hard and harsh movie, but it also has a hypnotic, lyrical velocity. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Offering proportionate measures of raw violence and lyrical soliloquizing, the Peckinpah-influenced The Proposition is for those who prefer their western action unvarnished but immaculately framed. Read more

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: There are intense confrontations and quiet bits of dialogue that delve into the souls of the characters. The stars, especially Pearce and Winstone, fully inhabit complex, unglamorous roles. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: A psychological Western more in the mold of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven than the John Ford films its stark cinematography resembles. It's about a good man, Stanley, who does bad things, and a bad man, Charlie, fighting his conscience. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Mr. Huston, Mr. Pearce and Mr. Winstone give especially luminous performances as Arthur, Charlie and Captain Stanley. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: By the end, it all pays off exactly the way a hundred earlier Westerns did. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The strength of The Proposition is its relentless moral ambiguity. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Have you read Blood Meridian, the novel by Cormac McCarthy? This movie comes close to realizing the vision of that dread and despairing story. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: The squeamish should skip this film. But its recurring violence seems justified in terms of the story Cave sets out to tell and is up a familiar alley for the songwriter who has an album called Murder Ballads. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: This is the crucial proposition The Proposition misses: To make us truly despair about the face of violence, it must be firmly attached to someone we know, and not merely blown off someone we don't. Read more

Ben Walters, Time Out: 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. Read more

Richard Kuipers, Variety: Hillcoat and Cave have here found their most fertile ground yet for allegory-rich examinations of life and death in remote, pressure-cooker environments. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The climactic Christmas Day dinner of dreadful retribution is a terrifying prospect, but for anyone with a yen for our great lost genre, it's also some sort of gift. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A revisionist western that brings its own brand of sanguinary honesty to the genre. Read more