Taxi Driver

When the word "anti hero" is used, odds are that in short order Travis Bickle comes to mind. He's definitely a character that stays with you, thanks to the painful story and DeNiro's amazing performance. Travis is the modern anti hero, not smooth or polished. He can't put a wisecrack together unless it's in front of the mirror. He's just a guy that wants to amount to something yet either doesn't have the character or the opportunity, only the painful awareness of everything he isn't. His only solace is his own convictions, he has strong opinions about many things most notably that the streets of NY are infested with scum, and need to be cleaned up.

We begin the movie with an introduction to Bickle's world view, a close up on his eyes in red light, while soothing music plays, interspersed with the world out the windshield, which is little more than bright and busy lights scored by the more ominous music of building drums.

We find Travis interviewing for a job at a cab company. His interviewer clearly suspects his and possibly anyone's motives for wanting to drive a cab.
Personnel Officer: So whaddya want to hack for, Bickle?
Travis Bickle: I can't sleep nights.
Personnel Officer: There's porno theaters for that.
Travis Bickle: Yeah, I know, I tried that.
Personnel Officer: So now what do you do?
Travis Bickle: I ride around most nights - subways, buses - but you know, if I'm gonna do that I might as well get paid for it.

When asked about his driving record, Bickle says "It's clean, as clean as my conscience." He gives his education as "a little, here and there." and also states that he was honorably discharged from the Marines. The interviewer tells him to check back when the next shift starts. We next find Bickle at home in his apartment writing a letter, which he starts by thanking god "for the rain, which helps wash away the garbage and trash off the sidewalks." He states he's working long hours, six-seven days a week, and he's happy that this keeps him busy. He continues:
"All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. I go all over. I take people to the Bronx, Brooklyn, I take 'em to Harlem. I don't care. Don't make no difference to me. It does to some. Some won't even take spooks. Don't make no difference to me."

We see Travis pick up a businessman with a prostitute, who promises a big tip if "he does the right things." he tells us that every night he has to clean bodily fluids from the backseats of his cab. We see Travis popping pills after his shift before heading for a porno theater. He makes an advance at the girl selling refreshments the theater, who rejects him, threatening to call the manager. Resuming his letter, he says,
"The days go on and on... they don't end. All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people."

He then goes on to describe seeing Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) for the first time, at Palantine campaign headquarters. He sees her as angel appearing in the midst of the filth in the streets. We see Betsy at work for the Palantine campaign, stating to a coworker, "push the man first, then the issue." She points out that "the taxi driver" is staring at them through the window. He speeds of startled when Betsy puts her coworker up to confronting him.

Travis meets his his fellow drivers at a diner after a shift. While they're very friendly to him, he has a hard time staying socially engaged drifting off between comments, forcing them to repeat themselves to get an answer from him. They swap fare stories, and Travis mentions some news he heard about a cabbie getting cut. One of the drivers, noticing that Travis handles some rough neighborhoods tells him that if he ever needs a gun, he can get him a good deal. Travis declines and seems content to sit at the table drifting into his own thoughts.

Travis gets dressed up in nice clothes, and shows up at Palantine campaign headquarters, volunteering to work for Palantine's campaign, insisting that he speak directly to Betsy. When she questions him, finding he knows nothing about Palantine, Bickle tells her she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, then continuing:
Bickle: I'll tell you why. I think you're a lonely person. I drive by this place a lot and I see you here. I see a lot of people around you. And I see all these phones and all this stuff on your desk. It means nothing. Then when I came inside and I met you, I saw in your eyes and I saw the way you carried yourself that you're not a happy person. And I think you need something. And if you want to call it a friend, you can call it a friend.
Betsy: Are you gonna be my friend?
Bickle: Yeah.
She seems charmed by his unconventional approach and agrees to meet him for a cup of coffee at 4:00. They talk about Betsy's work and Travis brings up her coworker:
 Bickle: I would say he has quite a few problems. His energy seems to go in the wrong places. When I walked in and I saw you two sitting there, I could just tell by the way you were both relating that there was no connection whatsoever. And I felt when I walked in that there was something between us. There was an impulse that we were both following. So that gave me the right to come in and talk to you. Otherwise I never would have felt that I had the right to talk to you or say anything to you. I never would have had the courage to talk to you. And with him I felt there was nothing and I could sense it. When I walked in, I knew I was right. Did you feel that way?
Betsy: I wouldn't be here if I didn't.

Coffee goes pretty well and Betsy seems fascinated with Travis. She agrees to go to a movie with him at another time, telling him before going back to work,

 Betsy: You know what you remind me of?
Travis Bickle: What?
Betsy: That song by Kris Kristofferson.
Travis Bickle: Who's that?
Betsy: A songwriter. 'He's a prophet... he's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly fiction. A walking contradiction.'
Travis Bickle: [uneasily] You sayin' that about me?
Betsy: Who else would I be talkin' about?
Travis Bickle: I'm no pusher. I never have pushed.
Betsy: No, no. Just the part about the contradictions. You are that.

Travis runs out to buy a Kris Kristofferson album, and looks forward to meeting Betsy for a movie. He happens to pick up Senator Palantine in his cab, and when Palantine asks him the one thing in the country that bugs him the most, he inspires a rant from Travis comparing the city to a cesspool.

An underage prostitute, Iris (Jodie Foster) gets in his cab to get away from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel) who pulls her out of the cab, when Travis doesn't take off fast enough. Sport throws a bill onto his seay and tells him to forget about it. Travis meets Betsy, dressed up in a suit jacket and tie and reveals that the Kristofferson album was for Betsy. He surprises Betsy, by bringing her to a dirty movie. She attempts to sit through it, but leaves quickly, offended and not willing to talk about it. He calls her and finds she's not interested in seeing him at all. He sends her flowers which she won't accept and end up sitting in his own apartment. Desperate, he storms into Palantine headquarters only to be escorted out.

Travis picks up an odd fare, who has him park across the street from an apartment building so he can look at his wife in another man's window. The fare explains in detail that he's going to kill her, explaining what a 44 Magnum will do to a woman. This clearly rattles Travis. He meets with the other cabbies at the diner again, and he pulls "The Wizard" aside, looking for advice, stating he has some bad ideas in his head.

The Wizard: Look at it this way. A man takes a job, you know? And that job - I mean, like that - That becomes what he is. You know, like - You do a thing and that's what you are. Like I've been a cabbie for thirteen years. Ten years at night. I still don't own my own cab. You know why? Because I don't want to. That must be what I want. To be on the night shift drivin' somebody else's cab. You understand? I mean, you become - You get a job, you become the job. One guy lives in Brooklyn. One guy lives in Sutton Place. You got a lawyer. Another guy's a doctor. Another guy dies. Another guy gets well. People are born, y'know? I envy you, your youth. Go on, get laid, get drunk. Do anything. You got no choice, anyway. I mean, we're all fucked. More or less, ya know.
Travis Bickle: I don't know. That's about the dumbest thing I ever heard.
Wizard: It's not Bertrand Russell. But what do you want? I'm a cabbie. What do I know? I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about.
Travis Bickle: Maybe I don't know either.


Travis starts watching Palantine on TV at home, and continues looking in on campaign headquarters while driving by. He recognizes Iris on the street and starts following her, observing as she picks up a john before speeding off. His despair increases and he refers to himself as "God's lonely man." also commenting that "there is a change. Travis takes advantage of his fellow cabbie's offer to hook him up with a gun. Rather than choosing a gun, Travis takes all the guns the salesman shows him. He starts a meticulous workout program, stops eating junk food, getting himself "organized" for a mission taking shape in his mind. He practices pulling his guns in the mirror, and taping a knife to his boot. He chats with a Secret Service agent at a public appearance and practices, intimidating banter while now pointing his gun at Palantine posters. He defines his mission to himself:
 "Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up."


Travis happens to be in a convenient store, when it's held up, and shoots the would be robber in the face. Concerned because he doesn't have a permit, the store owner takes the gun and beats the robber to death with a steel rod, telling Travis to take off. Travis starts watching TV with his gun in hand. He writes a card to his parents, claiming that he's working for the government and so can't reveal his address. He also claims he has a girlfriend named Betsy.  Palantine's people are ramping up for a big appearance. Starting to feel edgy Travis kicks over his television. He sees Iris on the street again and this time approaches her. She directs him to "Matthew"(Sport) Sport takes him for a cop, but after talking comes to an agreement. Iris takes him to a room, but rather than have sex, he talks to her. He reminds her of the day she got in the cab trying to get away. He offers to help her get away, but she doesn't understand, explaining that she must have been stoned when she tried to get away. He asks to see her again in a non professional way and she agrees to breakfast tomorrow. At breakfast he tries to talk her into going back to her parents. Iris rebuffs him.
Iris: God, you're square.
Travis Bickle: Hey, I'm not square, you're the one that's square. Your full of shit, man. What are you talking about? You walk out with those fuckin' creeps and low-lifes and degenerates out on the streets and you sell your little pussy for peanuts? For some low-life pimp who stands in the hall? And I'm square? You're the one that's square, man. I don't go screwing fuck with bunch of killers and junkies like you do. You call that bein' hip? What world are you from?

Iris starts considering leaving, but insists that something must be done about Sport, so he can't do the same thing to other girls. Iris asks him to leave with her, to go to a commune in Vermont, but he says he wouldn't hang out with people like that. Travis tells her, that he's working for the government and may be going away for a while, but tells her he'll give her the money to go.

Iris confronts Sport, telling her she doesn't like what she's doing. Sport talks to her like she's his girlfriend, convincing her to stay. Travis starts to make final preparations, making up an envelope with money for Iris and burning all the dead flowers which came back from Betsy. He arrives at Palantine's big rally, and we see that Travis has shaved his head leaving only a mohawk. Pushing through the crowd to meet Palntine, he's spotted by the secret service agents just before he can pull out his gun. He runs back to his apartment and then heads out to see Sport. After having a few words, in which Sport claims he doesn't know and Iris. He shoots Sport and the man running the rooms where the girls take their Johns. Sport isn't dead however and runs up behind Travis in the hallway shooting him. Travis kills him and another man runs into the hall shooting Travis again, before Travis kills him too. Iris witnesses the whole scene. Travis tries to shoot himself, but finds he has no bullets left, so he sits and waits for the cops.

Travis battle with Sport, makes him a hero in the newspapers, and we hear Iris' parents lettter, thanking him for saving Iris and sending her home. Travis goes back to driving his cab, and ends up with Betsy as a fare. Betsy reveals that she read about him in the papers and downplays his ordeal. He lets her off, and when she asks about the fare, he takes off . We resume seeing the city from Travis' point of view as he drives off.

"Taxi Driver" is a brilliant character study. Scorsese does a brilliant job filtering the world through Bickle's eyes, while at the same time keeping the facts in the real world. We see what happens and then get Bickle's take on it. Scorsese makes the world very dark and gritty, the streets covered with literal trash to match the human element that bothers Bickle. His use of through the windshield scenes are remarkably effective, showing us the world as Bickle moves through it viewing through the glass, almost like a child visiting the zoo. He is even isolated from his passengers, seeing them only through his rear view mirror. Whatever they do, doesn't affect him in the front seat. Bernard Hermann's score is also amazing, involving us in Bickle's precarious mental state shifting from dreamlike to threatening and back as needed, serving as an echo of his condition. It's notable that once Bickle finds his mission, the music disappears, as if for a moment, he's quieted the noise in his head.

DeNiro is amazing in this role, becoming Bickle inside and out. It's tough to admire DeNiro for it though, since his performance is so flawless we don't really see him, only Travis Bickle. For all his flaws and disturbances DeNiro's Bickle also has a certain dignity. This is a remarkably complex role, but we never see DeNiro acting, only Bickle struggling. The supporting cast is also terrific, Cybill Shepherd portrays Betsy believably as a woman who may as well exist in a different universe from Travis.  She is lonely, as Travis surmised, but she doesn't live with her loneliness like he does. The difference between them is largely one of background and social skills, but those two factors are quite significant. She also has aspirations, Palatine's campaign is a cause she sees as greater than herself, and perhaps this also attracts Bickle, the idea that she has found such a thing. His first chosen cause, is Betsy herself. As he puts it, "She's appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess..."Whether devoting himself to her beauty or to the idea of Love itself, this is a cause, which could make him great. His social ignorance however, makes this impossible, and for Betsy, who rarely travels outside convention, his social faux pas is unforgivable. He lured her outside her comfort zone, and then, in her thinking, insulted her, so she ran right back. While she recognizes that Bickle is full of contradictions, she can't imagine that anyone could bring her to a porno movie with innocent intentions. Young Jodie Foster is wonderful as Iris, making the most of her fairly limited time. Harvey Keitel as Sport is charmingly sleazy, and his exchanges with DeNiro are remarkably entertaining.

Travis Bickle is not a man plagued by a great outside evil. He is rather plagued by his own mind  and the absence of anything great in his life. He blames "the filth" that infests the streets, but at the same time, he drives around at night as if he's seeking it out. For a man bothered by the darker elements, he always ensures that he's surrounded by them. He makes it very clear that he want to be "something."  yet he can accomplish little when he lives most of his life inside his own head. He attempts to be social, hanging out with the other drivers for example, but he can't contribute easily to conversations, always getting caught up in his own lonely thoughts. It's notable that the other drivers don't find Bickle that strange and take his idiosyncrasies in stride. He's socially awkward, but not unique in that. He's a character that anyone could run into anywhere. He's lonely and frustrated but the intensity isn't obvious.

Bickle needs to "make a stand." Of that much, he is certain. He just doesn't know what he should make a stand for. His world doesn't offer easy black and white answers. How he chooses is another interesting point. Bickle is intelligent, but not educated. He comes to ideas and believes them but doesn't examine them through books or even conversation. He believes what feels right and "makes sense" to him, not much further than that. Intellectually, he chooses killing Palatine as his cause. The obvious reason would seem to be that he's identified Betsy as "like all the rest." and so determined her cause is not worthy either, and so deems it worthy of being eliminated.

My feeling is that Bickle also recognizes Palatine's insincerity, instinctively feeling insulted by Palatine's condescension when he was in the cab. Palatine says "I've learned more in cabs, than in all the limousines" While on the surface, Bickle accepts that, we sense his Bickle's belief straining, although at the time it stays in place because he still sees a chance with Betsy. It's worth remembering that while Bickle seems oblivious, he hears what's going on and doesn't forget, as evidenced several times, such as in the diner with drivers he was offered a good deal on guns, which he seems to disregard, but picks up on later. Another example is his brief first encounter with Iris, which he initially doesn't act on, but does a little later. He recalls what Palatine told him in the cab, agreeing with his own assessment of  New York as a cesspool, and stating that, yes, something should be done, but it would require drastic changes. He later sees Palatine on television, stating that he feels the people have answered his demands and risen to meet them. The two ideas are contradictory, and it's likely that's enough to tell Bickle that Palatine is a liar, or at least give him a justification to be angry. Keeping a liar from being President is a far more likely cause for Bickle than revenge against Betsy, a cause that goes against his reasoning (although that feeling is certainly there, he can't act on it for that reason.) We know from the beginning of the movie that he prizes his clean conscience, and while he may be capable of anything, it seems likely that he would need to justify his cause to himself.

A man who doesn't see himself as good, couldn't pass judgment as he does on the streets of the city. He doesn't see himself as evil by any means, only lost and confused. His moral center however can't be defined by an "average" moral center. We see him shoot a robber in the face without hesitation, only concerned that the cops will bother him about his lack of a permit. We don't know where he's been or what he's done in the past. He claims he was a Marine, but given all his claims later on of working for the government, this may be suspect. His sloppiness when killing Sport and his crew, suggests that if he was, he was never in the habit of killing. Whether or not he was a Marine, killing is not a problem for him at all, and neither is dying. It's implied that he thinks he'll be killed after shooting Palatine, given his questioning the secret service agent about his gun and his statement to Iris that he'll be "going away." His attempted suicide after shooting Sport's crew confirms that he's ready to die.

It's only by luck that he fulfills his secondary cause, freeing Iris from Sport. It seems likely that if he had indeed killed Palatine and been killed himself, Iris would've kept the money, but not gotten free. So even after finding the cause to give himself to, it's only his failure that allows him to accomplish anything truly worthy. Whether he would've accomplished this if he didn't believe they'd catch him for trying to shoot Palatine is uncertain. His sense of borrowed time, spurs him to make a last action and almost by accident he ends up accomplishing something good.

One very unsettling part of the movie, is the fact that Bickle has not changed. He played out his messiah fantasies and came out as a hero. He's celebrated, since no one knows of his attempted assassination. The loneliness that plagued him, doesn't show any indication of having gone anywhere. In fact, his perceived heroism, would likely increase his sense of isolation and give more credibility to the urges he struggles with. We don't know what he'll do next, but I would wager it won't be comforting. It's only a matter of time before he runs into another woman he needs to "save."

This isn't a film about morality. It doesn't condemn or praise Travis Bickle, just shows us a picture of who he is and what he does. We wonder, is Travis Bickle a product of his circumstances, is he just mentally ill, or both? While he's clearly psychotic, some of his concerns are valid in the context of the movie. He knows what his own problem is when he states,  "I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people." He clearly believes that he should be like other people but he doesn't know how. He can't get past the lack of something to stand for. He wants to be admirable, so much so that he'll give his life to achieve it. He's terribly misguided and naive in certain ways, but given what he sees in his life, it's not much of a stretch to think that his quest is not only to make himself worthy, but to prove that something worthy exists. (not that his mind would accept the prrof if he found it) If the film gives any answer, it's that sometimes good exists, but rarely does it happen due to your plans. The true tragedy is the ease with which Bickle walks through the word without raising a single red flag, finding himself a hero as a result of his psychosis being again unnoticed by the system and society around him.

The Proposition

I read an article not long ago that stated as one of its qualifications for an anti hero "being able to tell the story of your life through any Nick Cave song." The Proposition is a movie that puts that idea to the test, as it's written by Nick Cave himself, and it proves to be a valid theory.

The film is about three brothers; Charlie (Guy Pearce,) Arthur (Danny Huston)and Mikey Burns, who once rode the wilds of Australia together as a criminal gang. We open with Charlie and Mikey holed up in a tin shack with prostitutes and their gang, as bullets come in from the outside. Mikey is useless, panicked and also mentally impaired. Charlie keeps cool and fires back, while trying to calm Mikey, but the situation appears hopeless as the prostitutes and his gang fall to the gunfire.

Charlie and Mikey are soon seated at a table with Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) Captain Stanley tells Charlie that he really wants to bring in Arthur Burns, the older brother. Charlie tells Capt. Stanley, "You're a copper Stanley, not a judge and jury." Capt. Stanley answers, "Well clearly Mr. Burns, I am what I wish to be."

When Charlie says that he doesn't ride with Arthur any longer, Capt. Stanley makes a proposition. He tells Charlie that if he kills Arthur, he can save his simple brother Mikey from being hanged, as well as a full pardon for Mikey and himself.Capt. Stanley calls Arthur a monster and mentions a horrific murder scene at "The Hopkins place" which is somehow more gruesome because one of the victims, Eliza Hopkins was pregnant. He informs Charlie that he knows where Arthur is, apparently a desolate place where "the blacks" won't go. He gives Charlie 9 days, ending on Christmas day and sets him free to find Arthur. Capt. Stanley brings Mikey into town, announcing him as one of the Burns gang, and declaring "I will civilize this place."

He deposits Mikey in a cell and is surprised when his wife Martha (Emily Watson) visits him at the jail, reminding her that she wasn't to visit him at work. She reminds him that he hasn't been home in three days and persists in asking when he;ll be coming home until he says he'll be home later. Although speaking somewhat sternly, he addresses his wife with respect. When Martha leaves, he chastises his officers and warns of consequences for making an off color innuendo about Mikey Burns being "plenty man enough." At home later Martha asks about Eliza Hopkins death being swift and Capt. Stanley evades the question. They share a tender moment lying in bed when Martha asks him to share his burden with her, and says she believes in him.

The next day, Charlie, en route to Arthur, happens upon Jellon Lamb (John Hurt) a bounty hunter looking for Arthur Burns who has settled into a little house beneath the cliff where Arthur is hiding. Jellon makes a bad impression immediately by continously making craacks about the Irish, prompting Charlie to put a gun to his head. Jellon is incorrigible, however. He continues with the Irish jokes and pushing for Charlie's name. Charlie tells him his name is Charlie Murphy.

Charlie Burns: Do you pray, Mr. Lamb?

Jellon Lamb: Good Lord, son, no, I do not. I was, in days gone by, a believer. But alas, I came to this beleaguered land, and the God in me just . . . evaporated. Let us change our toast, sir. To the God who has forgotten us.
Jellon rambles about Charles Darwin, scoffing that white men and the aboriginal people could have a common ancestor. He reveals that he's waiting for Arthur,
Jellon Lamb: "Oh, he sits up there in those melancholy hills; some say he sleeps in caves like a beast, slumbers deep like the Kraken. The Blacks say that he is a spirit. The Troopers will never catch him. Common force is meaningless, Mr. Murphy, as he squats up there on his impregnable perch. So I wait, Mr. Murphy. I wait.
Charlie knocks Jellon out and says: "Aye, you wait. You wait here... bounty hunter." and sets out up the mountain towards Arthur.

Capt. Stanley and Martha are dressed up like proper English people, having a civilized breakfast, and talking about what they miss about England. One of Capt. Stanley's officers shows up to interrupt their breakfast to tell them about some aboriginals that were found hiding in the ranges. Capt. Stanley has an aboriginal man translating for him as he asks them about Arthur. They tell him that Arthur can't be caught, and that he can turn into a dog. Capt. Stanley doesn't find this useful. Capt. Stanley's men sit outside in the meantime, joking about having sex with Martha.

Charlie is making his way up the mountain, and after catching and eating some dinner, he's surprised to have a spear run through his chest by an aborigine, who Charlie can see is shot in the head, before blacking out. He wakes up in a camp with a woman tending to his wound. We see Arthur show up, watching Charlie as he sleeps. Martha is taking a stroll though town, standing out like a sore thumb, by dressing as a completely proper lady. One of the shop owners gives Martha some news to ask her husband about.

Arthur finds Charlie awake and they discuss family. Arthur asks why Mikey isn't there and Charlie tells Arthur that Mikey met a girl. Arthur seems amused asking many questions about the girl. Charlie says: "He worships you know. There was a time we both did." Arthur tells Charlie that he was right to leave as Mikey deserves better. Back at the jail, the police taunt Mikey changing the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to reference his hanging.  At home, Martha asks what Sgt. Lawrence meant by saying Mikey was "man enough"
She insists that he tell her what he did to her friend Eliza, and he insists she doesn't want to know. Their argument is interrupted by Eden Fletcher arriving to meet with the Captain. Eden informs him that one of his men was killed by aborigines in retaliation for the killing of one of their group. Eden goes on to talk about reciprocity and says"If you're going to kill one, make sure you kill all of them."

Eden also informs Capt. Stanley that he plans to have Mikey flogged with 100 lashes. Eden confronts the Captain about the proposition, the rumour having spread via the lower officers. Capt. Stanley expresses serious problems with this, stating that he doesn't believe Mikey was responsible for anything due to his simple mental condition. Eden criticizes the proposition he offered Charlie, particularly the pardon offered to Charlie and Mikey, asking Capt. Stanley again "Who do you think you are, the judge and the jury?"  Stanley defends his position stating that he holds Arthur responsible for the atrocities, and knows that Charlie will do anything to protect Mikey. Martha listens outside the door as Eden shows outrage over the rape and murder, and declares again that he's to have Mikey lashed, and Charlie hanged if he returns. Martha is visibly shaken with outrage, as the Captain tells her to stay there.

He heads to the jail and finds his officers taunting Mikey. Capt. Stanley has a hard time containing his anger, knowing their talking has led him here.  He dismisses them at gunpoint and when Mikey asks where Charlie is, he answers that he doesn't know in a reassuring tone. Soon he hears the townspeople arriving at the jail. He goes outside to meet them. When they demand Mikey, he threatens to shoot the first person to lay a hand on him. Eden arrives as well, but Capt. Stanley doesn't back down. He is surprised that his wife shows up as well, joining in the demand. "What if it had been me?" She asks. Capt. Stanley drops the jail keys, but clearly knows this is a bad idea. Before they reach 50 lashes the crowd is sickened by the lashing's  effects on Mikey. Martha collapses with revulsion. Capt., Stanley takes the whip and flings it at Eden, getting blood on his face. "You're days are through here Capt. Stanley." Eden responds.

Leaving men at the jail to tend to Mikey, Capt. Stanley and Martha head home. He closes the doors up trying to seal the house, obviously aware that there are consequences coming. He tries to convince Martha to eat while she sits in bed still shocked. He apologizes to her for the ordeal, explaining that it was all to protect her and that whatever idea of justice he had, he isn't sure of anymore.

At Arthur's camp, Samuel Stote, Arthur's sidekick, sings a song for everyone, prompting Arthur to say "You could shame a nightingale." Arthur announces to the group, "Love. Love is the key. Love and family. For what are night and day, the sun, the moon, the stars without love, and those you love around you? What could be more hollow than to die alone, unloved?" Samuel is startled by gunfire in the distance, but Arthur explains that it's miles away. Sgt. Fletcher and the aboriginal tracker helping them head off towards smoke in the distance, as they search for rebel aborigines. Arthur's camp sleeps, while he sits up in the night staring at the moon. Fletcher's crew has killed a family and taken over their house for the night.  Charlie wakes to find Arthur burning everything int heir camp. Arthur leaves Charlie to recuperate, rushing off with Two Bob to grab a horse for Charlie. They find Sgt. Fletcher outside relieving himself. Fletcher reveals that Charlie is out to kill him and offers to help. Arthur's response is to stomp him to death.

While Arthur is out, Jellon Lamb has found the camp and has Charlie tied up as well as the other members of the gang. He parades Charlie around bragging about his abilities and insulting the Irish. He reveals that knows Charlie is one of the Burns brothers. Lamb stops in his tracks and we see blood appearing on his shirt, shot from a distance, as Arthur appears. Lamb collapses, spouting poetry, which Arthur answers:
Lamb: There's night and day brother, both sweet things. Sun and Moon and stars, all sweet things. And quiet, there's a wind on the east. Life is very sweet, brother.
Arthur Burns: Life is very sweet, brother, who wish to die.
Jellon Lamb: Ah.
Arthur Burns: George Borrow, I believe. A worthy writer, and a beautiful sentiment sir. But you're not my brother.
Arthur stabs him, and leaves him dying. Charlie gets disgusted when Arthur starts torturing Lamb with the knife, and pulls a gun on Arthur. Arthur exclaims "Why, can't you ever just stop me?" Rather than shoot Artur, he puts Lamb out of his misery, and tells Arthur that Mikey is going to hang on Christmas. "When's Christmas?" Arthur asks. Charlie just says "I've got some riding to do." Arthur calls out "Brother!"



Capt. Stanley and Martha are looking through Christmas decorations that she procured. Stanley is amazed at the things she she has, including fake snow. The doctor knocks at the door, which Capt.. Stanley opens very carefully at gunpoint. He tells them that there's nothing he can do for Mikey, as he's too far gone.

Arthur, Samuel and Two Bob follow Charlie, conversing on the way:
Samuel Stote: What's a misanthrope, Arthur?
Two Bob: Some bugger who fuckin' hates every other bugger.
Samuel Stote: Hey, I didn't ask you, you black bastard
Arthur Burns: He's right Samuel. A misanthrope is one who hates humanity.
Samuel Stote: Is that what we are, misanthropes?
Arthur Burns: Good lord no. We're a family.

Officer's return to town with "rebel aborigines" However it's soon clear that the officers are Charlie and Arthur and the gang in disguise. They overtake the jail easily and find Mikey suffering. Eden is appalled to finds the jail empty and the guards only a dead and bloody mess. Martha and Capt. Stanley try to cat civilized as if nothing's wrong at home, while Samuel and Arthur get cleaned up and Charlie and Two Bob bury Mikey who has died. Two Bob tells Charlie it's his fault for leaving the gang. The Stanley's begin carving a bird for a nice quiet candlelit dinner. They sit down at the table and Martha prays ironically "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful." This is punctuated y Arthur and Samuel blasting through the door. Arthur takes Capt. Stanley into another room, leaving Samuel to guard Martha. Samuel starts eating their dinner as they listen To Capt. Stanley struggling in the other room. He then drags Martha into the room to watch as Arthur shoots Capt. Stanley. Samuel then throws Martha on the table intending to rape her as Arthur sits calmly close by.  Charlie walks into this scene, telling Arthur that Mikey's dead. Arthur remarks on Samuel's singing while he holds Martha down, saying "Listen to that, he sings like a bird!"
Charlie places his gun to Samuel's head and kills him, then shoots Arthur in the gut. Arthur says "Not the gut Charlie." Charlie shoots him in the heart and says "No more."

He leaves the Capt. Stanley badly maimed and struggling to get up and Martha still shocked on the table and says "I'm going to be with my brother." He finds Arthur outside sitting on the ground looking towards the horizon. Charlie sits down next to Arthur as the sky gets dark. Arthur says "You got me Charlie. What are you going to do now?"


*

John Hillcoat makes the picture look completely unpolished, not as in bad looking, but the dirt and dust of these characters is apparent in every frame. The  movie is at heart a western using the elements of the Australian setting and culture to best effect, feeling a bigger and more inhospitable than a modern western otherwise could. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis score the picture, making the music very much a part of the characters, at times laying back ground, at others impressing us with urgency or creepy mysticism, but never in a way that pulls us out of the picture.

Guy Pearce's Charlie is terrific, stoic and a man of few words, but a man of utmost seriousness. His underplaying works terifically here as the bridge between the well intentioned but naive, Capt. Stanley and the charismatic but twisted Arthur Burns. Danny Huston is tremendous as Arthur, portraying a man who contains the greatest poetry and the greatest of atrocities simultaneously. We see why his brother loves him, and why his brother would leave him just as clearly. Ray Winstone is pitch perfect as a man who really more than anything wants his wife to feel safe and respectable but makes the mistake of taking on too much alone and overestimating his own abilities and foresight. Emily Watson also shines, her Martha clutching principles and causes she doesn't fully understand, and don't apply in her new environment as she would believe they would. Her persistence, while endearing has consequences she can't face, and she is believably oblivious to that fact. John Hurt's Jellon Lamb is an instant character classic, loathsome to the core, if somewhat of a bit player here.

At heart, this ugly movie is an appreciation of the depth of connection that the idea of family has. Charlie must kill one brother to save another. While Arthur may clearly deserve to be killed, we can't eliminate the fact that they do not have a superficial relationship. Charlie may despise Arthur, but he also loves him deeply. His problems with Arthur's brutality surfaced long before the proposition was presented to him, but he was content to part company, as this would keep these facts from facing him and Mikey. Protecting Mikey, is his main responsibility, and while it's implied that Mikey participated in the atrocities, there's no question that he is too simple to know what's right and wrong. Charlie doesn't have that purity, but wants to protect it, because he doesn't have Arthur's apathy. He's forced to assume the role of protector because his older brother is depraved.  Charlie doesn't journey anywhere in the movie that he hadn't already considered. He had likely considered killing Arthur before but wasn't eager to do this. Both Arthur and Charlie seem difficult to surprise, as if they knew this is how things would go eventually but hoped to avoid it. When Charlie kills Arthur, despite the fact that Mikey is already dead, yet refrains from killing Capt. Stanley, it shows that he has a good sense of where responsibility really lies. Capt. Stanley just stepped into a situation that was far above his station or ability to control.

Capt Stanley is a man who has come a good way through determination and assertiveness. But, much like his wife, he treats this hostile territory by the rules he would use in England. He's also surprised that Fletcher would talk behind his back, showing that he generally expects men to be good. This also shows why he would be so determined to bring in Arthur, who he calls a monster. It isn't the deeds that bother him as much as people's perception that Arthur is more than a man. He wants to reveal that no one is beyond the natural rules, as this would reinforce the fantasy that he carefully builds with Martha. If the rules can apply, they can have their civilized life here. Sadly, he wants this too much and overreaches ensuring that fantasy's destruction. Ironically it isn't Charlie or Arthur that are beyond him, but Eden, the face of civilized authority. Eden's capacity for cruelty is on par with Arthur's as his sense of the rules is not tempered with happiness as Captain Stanley's is.

Watching Captain Stanley dote on Martha, never speaking a word to break her suspension of disbelief is very moving. He knows that they will very likely be dead at any moment, yet he plays along, while watching the door, perhaps enjoying the moments as he knows they are limited. He never blames Martha, for her part in inciting the lashing, knowing that she didn't understand the ramifications of her actions. He instead apologizes for not being able to protect her. Capt. Stanley is the one profoundly changed by these events, as the fantasy he helped to build is forever disrupted and his sense of justice broken.

These are all fully human characters, as likely to be deranged as kind. The true of heart can be misguided, the weak used as pawns in struggles between stronger men, most of which happen below the surface. Everyone in "The Proposition" struggles, although some more than others. The struggle is not to be right or wrong but only to be able to live in an oppressive environment with your understanding of the world intact. The monsters don't know they are monsters, and good men don't call themselves that. Every motive is simple and perhaps even reasonable, but they won't make room for each other and therefore can't exist together. And there is also the question of evil, the one fact that all motives agree on is that Arthur must be stopped. Charlie knows this better than anyone, but he doesn't forget, that in stopping Arthur's madness, he also kills something of beauty, because both exist in the same man. He has to kill him and he does. Charlie doesn't have to sit with him as he dies, but he does, perhaps feeling Arthur's earlier comment:

"Love. Love is the key. Love and family. For what are night and day, the sun, the moon, the stars without love, and those you love around you? What could be more hollow than to die alone, unloved?"