Chopper

"Come on you bloody fairy, rip into it." So says Mark Brandon Read, or Chopper as he is better known, as his friend Kevin, with a shaking hand, gets down to slicing off his ears in the cold shower block of Australia's notorious Pentridge Prison. If you haven't heard of Chopper, I'll give you a brief description of him. He is Australia's most notorious modern-day criminal. He is a man who has made his name through a lifetime of extreme violence and torture. Those who know him have said that he still holds the unofficial record for bashing people - 63 - and of those, 11 were classed as attempted murder. Perhaps even worse, Chopper is known for his interrogation techniques - for example, taking his bank robbing victim, nailing their hands to a table, removing their toes with a pair of cutters and sticking a blowtorch under their feet.

But don't let this put you off watching this film. While the film is based on the true story of Read's life, and contains graphic scenes of many of his exploits, it is juxtaposed by a dark humour that runs throughout. Mark Brandon Read is an extremely funny character, if the film is anything to go by. His obvious stupidity, his twisted idea of friendship and the violence perpetrated by him and others towards him makes for a dark story told by a director whose tongue appears to be firmly placed in cheek. Perhaps it is no surprise then that it is Australia's top comedian, Eric Bana, who plays the part of Chopper.

This gruesomely funny film follows Chopper over a relatively brief period in his life. After serving his time at Pentridge, where he receives multiple stab wounds from his best mate and successfully achieves transfer by using the most innovative of methods, Chopper receives his freedom. However, if you thought that his time in prison was eventful enough, his period of freedom proves to be just as anarchic and chaotic. Now supposedly a snitch for the police and a man with a large bounty on his head, Chopper somehow gets the misconceived idea that he is invincible (judging from the many bullet and stab wounds he has survived we can see his point). Inevitably trouble ensues in all its guises as our gun-happy hero invokes the wrath of old enemies, drug dealers, and his girlfriend's mother whom he manages to headbutt.

What makes this film so enjoyable and convincing is both Bana's exquisite performance as Chopper and Andrew Dominik's decision to avoid veering into moral judgement by focusing on the obvious humorous qualities of his central protagonist. The scenes of graphic violence speak for themselves. What we don't expect is the seemingly contradictory moments of pure comedy that occur as the violence ensues.

Is this Tarantino down under? The similarities in the story-telling style are undoubtedly present, but essentially this is an extremely original piece of cinema. Don't allow yourself to miss it.

Sam Moore