The Proposition (2006) - Quotes

Confrontation and Control in The Proposition

Jellon Lamb: [capturing Charlie Burns; Charlie struggles] Good boy! Nice and tight, eh? Right. Up we get. Oh, no, I wouldn't try that if I were you. Ligatures and knots are one of my many talents. Right. And it appears that you are singularly bereft of any talents whatsoever, Mr. Burns. To be speared by a savage? How extraordinarily quaint. Easy, Mr. Burns. I was drunk. You only got me because I was drunk. Well, I'm not drunk now. I'm on the job now. Not a bad day's work, either. For what is an Irishman, but a nigger turned inside out? Now, we're gonna sit down on this log. Nice and easy, Mr. Burns. There.

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A Moral Dilemma of Family Loyalty

Captain Stanley: Now, suppose I told you there was a way to save your little brother Mikey from the noose. Suppose I gave you a horse and a gun. Suppose, Mr. Burns, I was to give both you and your young brother Mikey, here, a pardon. Suppose I said that I could give you the chance to expunge the guilt beneath which you so clearly labor. Suppose I gave you till Christmas. Now, suppose you tell me what it is I want from you.

Charlie Burns: You want me to kill me brother.

Captain Stanley: I want you to kill your brother.

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Survival and Violence in Harsh Realities

Samuel Stote: Without me and my crack shootin', you'd be fucking dingo dinner. 30 yards away, I was. And, pchoo! Blew that black bastard's head right off. It was beautiful.

Martha Stanley: She was my friend!

Soldiers: [singing] On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: five cats a-floggin, four nooses swinging, three crows a-pecking, two dogs a-pissing, and little Mikey hanging from a pear tree!

Eden Fletcher: If you have to kill one, make sure you bloody well kill them all.

Jacko: Fellow in the picture, he live in a cave. Dog man. Big fella. He said Dog Man never sleep. He sit there all day. Sit down, in the cave. Way up. He live with small fella and black fella. Cannot catch him. Cannot kill him.

Jacko: Strange mob, you whities.

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Accountability in Relationships

Two Bob: It's all your fault, Charlie. You should never have left us.

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Completion of the Task

Two Bob: I think the job's fucking done.

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A Knife Returned with Disdain

Two Bob: Here's your knife back, you dog.

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Misidentification and Racial Tension

Two Bob: You've got the wrong fucking black man.

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Common Ancestry and Chilling Insights

Jellon Lamb: [Laughs] Charles, eh? Perhaps you've read On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin? Oh, don't be thrown by the title, he had some most fascinating things to say. Chilling things! Mr. Darwin spent time studying Aboriginals. He claims we are, at bottom … one and the same! He infers, Mr. Murphy, that we a share a common ancestry with monkeys! Monkeys!

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Introduction of Jellon Lamb's Character

Jellon Lamb: Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Jellon Lamb. Citizen of the world, you might say, an adventurer, and, if I may be so bold, a man of no little education.

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Acknowledgment of Racial Identity and Privilege

Jellon Lamb: [Motions for Charlie to put his gun away] No, no need for that. No need for that. We are white men, you and I!

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Fortune Hunter's Perspective on Life

Jellon Lamb: You see, My Dude, I am something of a fortune hunter.

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A Traveler's Disappointment in a Harsh Land

Jellon Lamb: Mr. Murphy, Russia, China, the Congo. Oh, I have traveled among unknown people in lands beyond the sea. But nothing, nothing could've prepared me for this godforsaken hole.

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A Lost Belief in a Forgotten God

Jellon Lamb: 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, then, to the God that has forgotten us.

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A Warning of Pain

Arthur Burns: This may hurt.

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A Bird's Song Captivates the Listener

Arthur Burns: [As Samuel tries to rape Martha] Listen to that. He sings just like a bird.

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A Moment of Distress in The Proposition

Arthur Burns: [After being shot] Oh, not the gut, Charlie. Shit.

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Dismissive Remark About Molly O'Boyle

Arthur Burns: Molly O'Boyle, my arse.

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The Importance of Love and Family

Arthur Burns: 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 more hollow than to die alone, unloved?

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The Depths We Face Together

Arthur Burns: Mikey's not the same stuff as us. We will be flung to the depths, you and I.

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The Importance of Family and Humility

Arthur Burns: Look at that. Be humble of heart, Charlie. This is the end of things. You're my brother. You belong with me. We are a family. All of us.

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Confrontation and Uncertainty in Action

Arthur Burns: You got me, Charlie. What are you gonna do now?

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Questioning the Limits of Control

Arthur Burns: Why can't you ever just … stop me?

Brotherly Loyalty in The Proposition

Charlie Burns: I'm going to be with my brother

Disdain for Constant Presence

Charlie Burns: You know, Samuel, the thing I relished the most while I was away? Was not having to see your fucking face all the time.

Threatening Warning from Charlie Burns

Charlie Burns: One more crack about the Irish, Mr. Lamb, and I'll shoot you. Am I clear?

A Warning About Brotherly Loyalty

Charlie Burns: You touch my brother again, I'll kill you.

A Calculated Plan for Revenge

Captain Stanley: I wish to present you with a proposition. I know where Arthur Burns is. It is is a godforsaken place. The blacks won't go there, nor the trackers. Not even my own men. I suppose, in time, the bounty hunters will get him. But I have other plans. I aim to bring him down. I aim to show that he is a man like any other. I aim to hurt him. And what will most hurt him? Well, I've thought long and hard about that. And I've realized, Mr. Burns, that I must become a little more inventive in my methods.

Civilizing the Land's Frontier Ambitions

Captain Stanley: I will civilize this land.

Reflection on Life Choices and Companionship

Captain Stanley: I've kept company with bad men all my life.

A Deadline for Mr. Burns

Captain Stanley: You have nine days, Mr. Burns.

The Horror of Arthur Burns Revealed

Captain Stanley: Arthur Burns is a monster. An abomination. You were right to break company with him. What happened at the Hopkins place was unforgivable. I have never seen such a sickening sight. Did you know that that poor woman, Eliza Hopkins, had a child in her belly?