• Review Index
  • About Me
  • Suggestions

vinnieh

~ Movie reviews and anything else that comes to mind

vinnieh

Tag Archives: Guy Pearce

The Proposition

31 Friday May 2013

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

2000's, Australia, Danny Huston, Emily Watson, Guy Pearce, John Hillcoat, John Hurt, Nick Cave, Ray Winstone, Revenge Drama, The Proposition, Western

Film Title

The Proposition

Director

John Hillcoat

Cast

  • Guy Pearce as Charlie Burns
  • Ray Winstone as Captain Morris Stanley
  • Emily Watson as Martha Stanley
  • Danny Huston as Arthur Burns
  • David Wenham as Eden Fletcher
  • John Hurt as Jellon Lamb
  • Richard Wilson as Mikey Burns

Brutal, blood-soaked but also thought-provoking and strangely poetic, The Proposition is an Australian western that delves deep into the minds of its characters. Scripted by Nick Cave, of the Bad Seeds fame, the film is visually exemplary and excellently performed. If it’s a western that focuses on the characters and the repercussions of their actions, then The Proposition is the film for you.

In 1880’s Australia, English lawman Captain Stanley captures two brothers, Charlie and Mikey, of a famous band of outlaws after a brutal shootout. They are accused of the heinous murder of a colonial family, including the woman of the house. Stanley, who Arthur and Charlie Burnshas his own version of justice, gives Charlie the title proposition; either he hunts down and kills his psychotic older brother Arthur or his feeble-minded younger brother Mikey will hang in the number of weeks that precede Christmas. The laconic Charlie goes in search of his brother in the arid Australian outback whilst deliberating what he will do. Meanwhile Stanley’s superior Eden Fletcher has decided to make an example of the young prisoner, which disturbs Stanley as he tries to wrestle with his conscience. The eponymous proposition will have consequences for every character involved as the film moves towards a shocking climax.

Nick Cave, best known for brooding songs about death, violent, bloody revenge and choice, fashions many of these themes into his poetic screenplay. It is as if he had written a song and extended it into celluloid. Unlike some westerns that feature constant shoot-outs, The Proposition, although violent and bloody throughout, focuses more on the choices and actions of theRay Winstone as Captain Stanley characters to move the story along. This is more effective as it paints a bleak and haunting portrait of a lawless time in which there are no easily identifiable bad guys. Cave also provides an atmospheric music score that compliments the long-lasting consequences of fatal decisions and gives Charlie’s journey to track down Arthur an almost mystical edge. Cinematography is a key component, showing both the savage and unforgiving state of the town and the arid beauty of the outback, sometimes at the same time. A fine cast of actors flesh out Cave’s challenging characters, with Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone and Emily Watson making the biggest impacts. As Charlie, Pearce exudes weariness at his difficult proposition, although he doesn’t share much love for his older brother, he still struggles to decide whether to kill him or save his other sibling in a strange Cain and Abel way. As Stanley, the lawman who is by turns violent and kind, Ray Winstone reveals new-found depths as an actor that make Emily Watson as Marthahis character interesting to watch. As one of the few women in the picture, Emily Watson is reliable as ever as Stanley’s wife Martha, who is delicate and haunted by the murder of her friend. It is she who brings out the kinder side to Stanley but also shocked and repulsed by the lawlessness surrounding her. Watson delivers a powerful monologue that speaks of her dreams of her dead friend that is so poignant and poetic, mainly because of her faultless phrasing and delivery. In supporting roles, Danny Huston as the psychopathic Arthur and John Hurt as a drunken bounty hunter, both imbue their characters with unstable menace that is very disquieting.

As I mentioned earlier, the film is quite violent in parts, especially when Mikey is brutally lashed,  so be warned if you are squeamish. But if you can handle it you shouldn’t miss this revenge riddled western that paints a brutal picture of crime and lawlessness and is scripted and acted to a high standard.

L.A. Confidential

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

1990's, Crime, Curtis Hanson, Danny DeVito, Drama, Film Noir, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, James Ellroy, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential, Neo Noir, Russell Crowe

Film Title

L.A. Confidential

Director

Curtis Hanson

Cast

  • Kevin Spacey as Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes
  • Russell Crowe as Officer Wendell “Bud ” White
  • Guy Pearce as Det. Lt. Edmund “Ed” Exley
  • James Cromwell as Capt. Dudley Smith
  • Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken
  • Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens

Based on the novel by James Ellroy and boasting an excellent ensemble cast, L.A. Confidential takes the viewer on an intrL.A. Confidential postericate journey into the 50’s, exposing corruption and murder beneath the veneer of glamour and bright lights along the way. Director Curtis Hanson has fashioned an elegant, brutal and thoroughly convincing neo noir that grips you with its labyrinthine plot, excellent jazz score and perfect feel for the time.

The main focus of the film is three members of the Los Angeles Police Department; suave and confident Jack Vincennes who enjoys the limelight in Hollywood, Bud White, whose violent and hot-headed antics often clash with others and intelligent upstart Ed Exley, who does everything by the book and longs to be just as good as his late father. The paths of the three men first cross at a Christmas Party, in which prisoners and police begin brawling in the cells and the paparazzi have a field day with the story, dubbing it “Bloody Christmas”. After a massacre at a restaurant named the Nite Owl, in which one of the men’s fellow officers is killed, the men are drawn together again in order to solve the case.This case leads them through many twists and turns involving corruption within the police force, the scandal loving magazine “Hush Hush”, a prostitution ring in which the women are made to resemble movie stars, drug dealing and long-buried secrets.

The pacing of the film is magnificent, slowly revealing and concealing things to keep the viewer guessing what will happen next. The cast assembled add immeasurable impact to the story as it gradually unravels before us. Spacey is excellent as the limelight loving Jack, adding humour and impact in his scenes. Guy Pearce is well-suited to his part of the determined Exley, who is driven to succeed whilst being ostracized by his peers. Russell Crowe makes an indelible mark as the violent and troubled Bud, getting under the skin of him and revealing a rarely shown sensitive side to his character. As a prostitute who is the spitting image of Veronica Lake and caught up in the ongoing investigation, Oscar-winning Kim Basinger adds both glamour and poignancy, especially as she and Bud begin to develop feeling for each other whilst he is working on the dangerous case.

Aided by stunning cinematography and an evocative jazz score, Los Angeles almost becomes another character within the film.It becomes  a hot bed of Hollywood high glamour, scandal loving people and deception round every corner. The humorous and barbed opening narration by Danny DeVito’s dirt loving tabloid journalist, in which footage from old movies and grainy paper headlines about drugs and illegal activities is shown while he speaks, clearly sums up this dichotomy of the place.

If you’re looking for a crime film with a noir sensibility and more twists than a winding serpent, then look no further than L.A. Confidential. Trust me you can’t go wrong with this excellent film.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012

Categories

  • 007 thoughts and reviews
  • Adventures of Satrap
  • Announcements
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Birthdays and Tributes
  • Blogging Community
  • Blogging Questions
  • Creepy
  • Gif Posts
  • Humour
  • Movie and Television Trivia
  • Movie opinions and thoughts
  • Movie Reviews
  • Music reviews and opinions
  • Photography Discussion
  • Rest In Peace
  • Sport
  • Television Opinions
  • Television Reviews
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
March 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Feb    

Tags

007 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010's Action Adventure Announcement Based on a true story Bernard Lee Bette Davis Birthday Blogs You Should Follow Carry On Movies Cate Blanchett Comedy Crime Desmond Llewelyn Drama Fantasy Foreign Language Film Gillian Anderson Happy Birthday Horror James Bond Judi Dench Julianne Moore Julia Roberts Liebster Award Lois Maxwell Madonna Maggie Smith Matthew Fox Meryl Streep Michelle Pfeiffer Music Musical Mystery Natalie Portman Neve Campbell Period Drama Psychological Horror Psychological Thriller Rest In Peace Romance Romantic Comedy Science Fiction Spy Supernatural Horror Thriller

Top Posts & Pages

The Call
Lyric Analysis - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue: Where the Wild Roses Grow
What are Your Favourite Sexy Movies and Television Shows?
50 First Dates
Walkabout
A New Page
Desperate Housewives Season 4
Stardust
What Makes a Good Bum?
The Shining
Follow vinnieh on WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy