Mark "Chopper" Read is, to use his favorite phrase, a cheeky dog.
He may consider himself a "bloody normal bloke," but he's in a maximum security lockup in Melbourne, Australia, where he decides to prove he's the alpha male of the H division by stabbing fellow prisoner Keithy George. As his victim crumples into a widening pool of blood, Chopper seems remorseful. "You all right?" he asks, offering Keithy a cigarette.
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| | | 'Chopper' Rating: Unrated but very violent in nature, with one scene of exposed male genitalia.
Starring: Eric Bana
Director: Andrew Dominik
Critic's Call: 3 stars | |
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Keithy is not all right. He is dragged out of the cell like a dead tuna. When Chopper is questioned by the authorities about the violence, he swears he and his mates know nothing. "Sadly, none of us are going to be able to help you on this occasion."
Chopper (Eric Bana) is the repulsive yet fascinating focus of "Chopper," a fictionalized account of a real Aussie criminal opening today at the Squirrel Hill Theater. The name Mark "Chopper" Read apparently is as well known Down Under as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer are here -- although Read reportedly is retired from crime and living with his wife and child on a Tasmanian ranch.
He claims to have committed 19 murders and, under his full name of Mark Brandon Read, has chronicled his exploits in nine best-sellers. They boast such titles as "The Singing Defective" and "No Tears for a Tough Guy."
In the movie, even Chopper's so-called prison friends don't understand why he insists on inventing or perpetuating feuds and they turn against him. When the prison warden refuses to transfer him from the H division, he devises a painful (and stomach-turning) plan. Flesh is sawed off, blood-letting occurs and Chopper gets his way.
"Chopper" follows his exploits inside and outside prison. He emerges as a very dark folk hero, with fans sending him worshipful letters and photos and young prisoners copying his numerous tattoos. The movie apparently spares us one of the more graphic incidents in Chopper's life -- the day after being stabbed, he split his stitches by doing push-ups and nurses were treated to the sight of his intestines protruding.
Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, "Chopper" is shot almost documentary style. It's anchored by a mesmerizing, menacing performance by Australian TV comedian Bana. His Chopper is a skillful liar, a violent man, yet embarrassed by any hints of kindness, who is prone to acting first and thinking later (if at all).
"Chopper" seems to assume the audience knows something about Read's past, especially his upbringing and adolescence, and his motivation. That's a big hole in this dramatization but Dominik does plunge us into a notorious netherworld where the main character can spin a yarn with the best of them and extricate himself from what seem like surefire convictions and prison terms.
This is about as far from "Bridget Jones' Diary" or "The Golden Bowl" as you can get. It may be set in the same country as the genteel and inspiring "The Dish" but it's a universe apart. It's rough going and is absolutely not for the easily offended or squeamish but it does have an indelible, star-making turn by Bana. He inhabits the role lock, stock and two smoking barrels.
