Ride it Again

Two New Westerns you probably missed because A. You hate old westerns and/or B. You need to start paying more attention to your surroundings. How many times do your mother and I need to tell you...

On second viewing the realization hits- The Proposition (2005) is a masterpiece. I was loving every second more than I remembered on the first time through. I love movies that hit me like that, always better on each go around.

In short, two outlaws are captured by a lawman. They turn out to be two of the three notorious Burns brothers, wanted in connection with the brutal massacre of a British family. Charlie Burns, played by the amazing Guy Pearce, receives a difficult proposition from the Captain- he has 9 days to find and kill his eldest brother Arthur (he's the crazy violent one) or his youngest (and virtually useless) brother Mikey will be hanged. Throw in the turmoil of race slaughter and general immorality, and its on.

The Western film genre is on the rise again. Edward Norton's Down in the Valley (2005), sadly, made it clear that the genre should definitely still stick with the late 1800 time period. Nick Cave (genuine whiskey-rock crooner, does film's soundtrack as well, extra cool points for landing P.J. Harvey and having the sense to duet with her) understood this, but he understood it in a way that is far more creative than any other new western that I'm sure will be pooped out of Hollywood in the next 2-3 years. Cave understood that environment is just as important as bad ass shoot outs, and virtually lawless 19th century colonial Australia is a refreshingly new backdrop, though not utterly unlike the Western scenery of old. Clint Eastwood wishes he had to deal with dark skinned natives throwing spears through his chest. The violence is extreme, but absolutely fitting, and no one gets to carry the virtue stick, not even the pretty English wifey (played in usual broken-woman* fashion by Emily Watson.) The visuals of the film are enhanced by director John Hillcoat. I have NO idea who he is, but he and Cave are working on another film together, so hurray!

It is worth noting that Nick Cave also managed to write one of the best ending scenes in a film ever. "What are you going to do now?" YES! Watch it, and you'll know. Gloomy Australian balladeers need to write more films.

Which brings me to another great new Western of sorts: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005). Apparently 2005 was the year of awesome. Not only did Nick Cave up and write an excellent Australian period piece, but Tommy Lee Jones went and proved himself a high class director. Not to mention that he can still act better than anyone, he just has to be allowed.

A rancher named Pete struggles to uncover the mystery around his friend's death, and keep a promise he made to him about his final resting place. Written by Guillermo Arriaga, scribe of Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006), the film retains the grittiness of the three aforementioned films, as well as the out of order narrative style he seems to prefer. But Tommy Lee Jones is also largely responsible for maintaining the grit. His squint alone provides enough grit to last a lifetime. This is before the good casting comes in. Most notable apart from Jones, is Barry Pepper, whose blonde Canadian hot ass is abused for most of the film. He stumbles well, and accomplishes what a good actor should- he artfully makes the viewer feel compassion for a despicable human being. Well, despicable may be harsh, considering he does feel bad about killing a man, but he's all shoot first- figure out what you're shooting at later. Without redemption, he's a midwest hick, which is just plain unforgivable.

Three Burials actually disproves my belief that Westerns should remain in the 19th century, though period pieces are just plain awesome. The film also has a similarly awesome ending as The Proposition- "Hey! You gonna be alright?" God love it! Really the bottom line is Nick Cave should write a movie that Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in.





*stolen from Billy


___________________on a side, though not totally random note:


Guy Pearce is the greatest stealth actor around. His magnificence lies in his ability to vanish within each role, as a good actor should, but his true genius lies in the fact that he doesn't stand out from the rest of the cast. He spreads his skill around. That's why, as you read this, you can maybe only think of one other Guy Pearce movie, but you've actually seen, like, twelve.

Top 5 Guy Pearce movies I love, and everyone must see:

1. A Slipping Down Life (1999)
2. The Proposition (2005)
3. Memento (2000)
4. L.A. Confidential (1997)
5. Ravenous (1999)


He is excellent as Andy Warhol in Factory Girl, but the movie just isn't. And I'm curious about his portrayal of Harry Houdini in the upcoming Death Defying Acts, though knowing what I know about Houdini, I am bothered that they apparently couldn't find anything interesting about Houdini's actual life so they made up an affair with a psychic (a type of person Houdini would have personally skinned alive), but what do you do? It's the price we pay to see Guy Pearce get it on with Catherine Zeta-Jones.