Screening Log: Chopper (2000)

February 14, 2008

Eric Bana stars as Chopper, a renowned Australian criminal I’d never heard of before. Chopper is by turns charming and brutal, but Bana’s performance gives the character a depth that sets Chopper apart from others in the same vein. Chopper doesn’t take pleasure in his rage nor is he coldly detached… if anything he is surprised by his own actions. People simultaneously fear and are attracted to Chopper and he seems to realize that whatever he is, he is different from other peoplem by virtue of charisma and cruelty. Chopper uses this difference to great advantage, becoming an unreformed celebrity in the process. Bana is riveting, the accent and dialect nearly incomprehensible.

Tags: cinema, film, Screening Log