CHOPPER
WARNING FOR FEMINIST UNI STUDENTS and SENSITIVE CHURCH GOERS - DON'T SEE
THIS FILM!
OK OK - so Chopper is a very politically incorrect film, but how could it
be otherwise being inspired by the life and fucked up times of Mark (Chopper) Reed.
In saying this, I have to also say that I laughed like hell nearly all
the way through this film!
Comedian Eric Bana (The Castle, Full Frontal) may appear to be a surprising choice to play Chopper, but he handles the at times humourous and at times terrifying role with ease, as do the supporting cast. Generally Chopper seems to be a fairly misguided character, some would say he is a psychotic murderer, a few might say he is a lovable rouge, but all
must agree that he is better off writing books than shooting people on the
streets of Melbourne!
One is left deliberating about this film, on one hand it is a real(ish) story of a well known criminal figure (the portrayal of Australia's criminal underworld is far more relevant to Australians than Pulp Fiction for example), on the other it is glamorising wholesale mayhem and murder. One is definitely left with the impression that there are individuals within our society who would not find it hard to see Chopper as being a hero well worth emulating. But the overall picture that Chopper paints is of a lonely man with the respect of some but little else.
The audience during the preview was made up of all walks of life and I
didn't see anyone get up and leave. This may be because the film makers cleverly pre-fixed
most of the politically incorrect scenes (Chopper punching his g/friend out then head-butting her mother etc) with a humorous comment or wry look from Mr Bana. We all laughed on cue, if
for no other reason than to rid the mind of the previous violence!
This film looks at the psychology and consequences of being a
cult-of-personality. One is given the strong impression that Mr Reed sees himself as a bit
of a Ned Kelly figure, ridding the world of drug dealing scum, guns a-blazing with a straw full of speed up one nostril and a shirt full of guns and dirty
money.
The audience however is left with the impression of a lonely figure who, although grudgingly admired by some, was generally betrayed by most of
his friends and associates. Probably the most notable aspect of Mr Reed's
character is its endurance and scope for self promotion! As Chopper himself says in
his third book Chopper 3 (How to shoot friends & influence people) "Guts,
Guns and God. In the end, that is all I have going for me. And in the end, that is
all any man really needs."
See Chopper if you are interested in the subject matter, but
don't expect to be nursed through it, it will both horrify and entertain you, often in the same scene.
As my ol' mum used to say "its all good fun till someone gets hurt!" As Mr Reed himself says "The opera ain't over till someone shoots the
fat lady!"
N-Joy (we did!)
CHOPPER begins around Australia on August 3.
Click here to go to the Chopper website.