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Chopper
Release Date: 2000
Director:
Andrew Dominik
Screenwriter:
Andrew Dominik
Starring:
Eric
Bana, Simon Lyndon, David Field, Dan Wyllie, Bill Young, Vince Colosimo, Kenny
Graham, and Kate Beahan
Genre: Documentary
MPAA Rating: NC-17
Plot Summary: Since Pulp Fiction,
violence has really taken center stage in the movies. The problem is, too many
films feature violence for the sake of violence. Chopper is different in the
sense that the violence really propels the story. Taken from the novel by
criminal Mark "Chopper" Reid, Chopper is a sometimes darkly funny, sometimes
unsettling look at a disturbed character who serves as both the protagonist and
the antagonist. Fueled by an incredible
performance by Eric Bana (who manages to be both a charmer and completely
terrifying), Chopper is a film you won't soon forget.
Reviewed by Peter
Veugelaers © 2005
- Take a pot shot but be warned.
“Never
let the truth get in the way of a good yarn,” says the tagline of Australian
feature film Chopper.
Liberties are taken over Mark Brandon
‘Chopper’ Read’s life - the film begins by acknowledging this - so it is really
a semi-fictitious slice of life about one of Australia’s notorious killers but
is based in the reality of a man who ironically published a best selling book
while in prison. But is it a good yarn? The results depend on whether you can
take your films with graphic violence or appreciate its black sense of humor.
‘Chopper’
is consistently intense with
the film’s attention on hard prison life that comes with coarse, edgy dialogue
and the raucous lifestyle of the protagonist. Throughout, there are isolated
moments of carefree graphic violence. It is a black comedy and the off centre
premise about Chopper’s insistence that he is a “normal guy down on his luck”
smacks of Aussie cockiness. We are naturally amused.
The protagonist’s attitude
against drugs despite his “noble cause killings”, the apologies to his victims
after shooting them, and his dysfunctionalism portrayed as winsome, is so off
the wall that it becomes funny. But it is a half-hearted sort of laugh.
Eric Bana as Chopper and
writer/director Andrew Dominik reveal the comical traits of the character as
somebody exalted as an Aussie icon, despite his anti-hero leanings. Chopper is a
cartoon character in his naivety and childish behavior, unbelievable yet
strangely human, someone who believes in what he is doing and who considers
himself the same as you and me. It comes across as naivety in the most violent
and charming of ways. Forrest Gump gone barmy, call it.
Yet,
there is a dimension to the film that makes him a victim of his isolation,
environment and parental upbringing. It is a slight nuance, and reasonably
effective, that has empathy for central character.
This is a quirky satire that will appeal to those who like their
comedy raw. Directed and written well, the acting is convincing and the stark
cinematography creates a somber mood akin to the subject matter. I don’t
recommend it for a “nice” slice of evening’s entertainment as the graphic and
flippant depiction of a violent criminal may be off putting for some. A guy’s
film. Did I tell you it is controversial? For good reason. |
