Movie Review: Chopper

This Friday, Ang Lee's the Hulk will debut at probably well over 3,000 theaters, so I thought I would better acquaint myself with its star, Eric Bana. So I saw Chopper, and I read a bit about Bana. After seeing him portray a rather dour and serious Delta in Black Hawk Down, I would not have imagined that he had come to acting through stand-up comedy. However, having seen Chopper, I find that fact easier to square.

Chopper is not a comedy, but it is very funny. It's essentially a biopic, and one that more closely resembles than any other I can think of. It resembles that film in terms of stylization, a strong central lead character, and the violence and emotional imbalance of that character. It's lead character is Mark "Chopper" Read, a criminal psychopath. Chopper is manipulative, violent, narcissistic, and somewhat foolish. He seems to veer radically between a literal incapacity to feel pain and a childish sensitivity.

I was impressed with Bana's charismatic and unusual acting performance. He manages to make Read a familiar, even likeable, monster. He communicates Read's whiplash moodswings believably and has a distinct physical presence. All of which make him an ideal person to portray the Hulk. It's really quite easy to see what Ang Lee saw in him.

This film is very violent and some people will see it as condoning violence and anti-social behavior, but I think it's an interesting film that asks interesting questions. Chopper is a compelling character, and rather seductive in his immoralty, and this film makes its audience question why this is.

I think it deserves three and a half stars.