Tom E. Lewis Movies
A young policeman in a sleepy community comes face to face with a notorious killer his very first day on the job in this Western drama from Australia. Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) is a lawman looking for a more peaceful life for himself and his wife, Alice (Claire van der Boom), who is expecting a child. Cooper takes a job as the constable of a small town called Red Hill without ever visiting the place, and in his first day on the job, his superior "Old Bill" Jones (Steve Bisley) and his colleagues don't seem to think much of Cooper, while the people of Red Hill seem like a quiet bunch who prefer to be left alone. But the calm in Red Hill is shattered when Jones gets word that convicted killer Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis) has escaped from prison. Ten years ago, Jones captured Conway and put him behind bars, and it's expected that he'll be making tracks to Red Hill to get revenge. And their suspicions are correct; shortly after the lawmen load up their weapons and report to their posts, Conway shows up with a shotgun and begins exacting bloody revenge. But later, when Conway gets the jump on Cooper and things don't end as expected, Red Hill's newest peace officer begins to suspect foul play. Red Hill was the first feature film from director Patrick Hughes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, (more)
An outlaw is goaded into taking on justice at its most brutal in this hard-edged Western set in rural Australia in the 1880s. Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is a criminal living in the outback. He and his two brothers, Arthur (Danny Huston) and Mikey (Richard Wilson), are on the run from the law for rape and murder. Arthur is a violent and dangerous sociopath with a much longer rap sheet than his siblings and a reputation for hiding out in villages so lawless the police are afraid to visit them, while Mikey is a much younger and more impressionable chap.
The authorities capture Charlie and Mikey after a bloody shootout, and the brothers are handed over to Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone), a British lawman sent to Australia to help bring order to the colonies. Stanley proposes a deal to Charlie, explaining that it's Arthur he really wants, and that he's willing to spare the childlike and terrified Mikey if Charlie can find Arthur and murder him. Charlie, realizing that this is his only hope to save his simpleton younger brother (who is scheduled to be hanged on Christmas Day), agrees and sets out to find and execute his other brother, who he believes has gone too far into the world of crime. As Charlie scours the backwaters of Australia, he encounters Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), an educated yet thoroughly menacing bounty hunter. In time, Charlie finds his brother, but isn't certain if he can carry out his mission. Meanwhile, Stanley struggles to bring a European sense of civility to the rough and tumble land he now calls home, while his wife Martha (Emily Watson) becomes the focus of the lustful appetites of the men in town. The Proposition was written by rock star and novelist Nick Cave; he previously collaborated with director John Hillcoat on the film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The authorities capture Charlie and Mikey after a bloody shootout, and the brothers are handed over to Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone), a British lawman sent to Australia to help bring order to the colonies. Stanley proposes a deal to Charlie, explaining that it's Arthur he really wants, and that he's willing to spare the childlike and terrified Mikey if Charlie can find Arthur and murder him. Charlie, realizing that this is his only hope to save his simpleton younger brother (who is scheduled to be hanged on Christmas Day), agrees and sets out to find and execute his other brother, who he believes has gone too far into the world of crime. As Charlie scours the backwaters of Australia, he encounters Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), an educated yet thoroughly menacing bounty hunter. In time, Charlie finds his brother, but isn't certain if he can carry out his mission. Meanwhile, Stanley struggles to bring a European sense of civility to the rough and tumble land he now calls home, while his wife Martha (Emily Watson) becomes the focus of the lustful appetites of the men in town. The Proposition was written by rock star and novelist Nick Cave; he previously collaborated with director John Hillcoat on the film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, (more)
