By Ed Koch
The Proposition (+)
This is a very powerful film that could have been much more impacting if it had English subtitles and if the sound track was louder. It is an Australian film showing an outback area of that country back in the early days of the colony. It was the era when white settlers were engaged in frontier justice and united in their killing of the Aborigines who were referred to as blacks. The Aborigines retaliated by killing a white man every time one of their people was killed. The movie only touches upon these aspects. It centers on the efforts of a decent law enforcement official, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone), married to Martha (Emily Watson), a woman of obvious education and taste in a small town beleaguered by the Burns brothers – the eldest Arthur (Danny Huston), Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce); and their brother Mikey (Richard Wilson) who is held in jail having raped and killed a pregnant woman.
The lawman is out to capture the gang, including an Aborigine so-called half-caste in the language of the day, who is also part of the gang. The lawman is willing to make a deal with Charlie, allowing him and Mikey to go free if the oldest brother, Arthur, is surrendered or killed.
Every critic mentions the violence and compares the movie to those made by the master of American western violent movies, Sam Peckinpah who directed “Straw Dogs” and “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” among many others. There are lots of beautiful scenes of the bleak countryside, a depressing scene involving whipping and one involving rape. The acting is superb, as is the script. It is totally reminiscent of our best westerns. Regrettably, it could have been far better by improving the soundtrack and adding subtitles.
“The King” (-)
Regrettably, this film is a dud. Its star, Gael Garcia Bernal, was brilliant in “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” which are Spanish films with English subtitles. In this film, Bernal speaks flawless English, but his performance is far less impacting.
The New York Times reviewer, Manohla Dargis, wrote a murky review of this movie but positive in terms of the acting. She put down Bernal by referring to him as “a man as pretty as Mr. Bernal.” The actor is without a doubt handsome but surely not pretty unless one would describe Brad Pitat that way.
Elvis Valderez (Gael Gardia Bernal) is a recently-discharged sailor who sets out to introduce himself to his minister father, Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt). Sandow leads a congregation in the style of the Pentecostal and Evangelical ministers we see on television every Sunday morning. Elvis goes to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he accosts the minister in the street and introduces himself as his son. The minister spurns him saying that the relationship he had with Elvis’s prostitute mother happened before he was born again and saved.
Elvis then proceeds to punish the minister by ravishing his sixteen-year old naïve daughter, Malerie (Pell James), who looks like Scarlet Johanson and has a similar acting style. A horrendous scene takes place between Elvis and his half-brother, Paul (Paul Dano). Paul’s wife, Twyla, (Laura Harring), a fine actress, displays tremendous emotional turmoil when she becomes aware of what is happening around her.
The film lacks credibility in a number of its horrific scenes. It had enormous potential, but the scriptwriter’s solutions to various problems made no sense to me. They did not correspond with reality and were unacceptable. If the movie had been in Spanish with subtitles, I wondered if I would be recommending it and reporting on its brilliance. I hope not.
