"The God In Me Just... Evaporated!"

It took me a second viewing to warm up to John Hillcoat's The Proposition. Maybe I shouldn't have watched it on such a sweaty day when I was living in Florida, when the last thing I wanted to be reminded of was oppressive, murderous heat. But now that I'm back living in Edmonton, Alberta, a story set in the sunbaked Australian outback seems almost refreshing.

Not that I'd ever want to spend two minutes in the violent, terrifying world of The Proposition, mind you. Few recent movies have delivered such a convincing portrait of Hell on earth, which bodes well for Hillcoat's upcoming adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, due out later this year. The Proposition is my "Hidden Gem" DVD pick this week on CBC Radio: click here to listen to me try and convince you to watch it.