Review of Romper Stomper (1992) by Anthony W — 29 May 2009

Being a fan of Oi! punk and the skinhead culture, I often find myself in conversations with other fans where we introduce each other to bands and other media. I found this film when I was talking to an Australian friend about my love for the movie American History X and he suggested that I check out Romper Stomper. I have never been a fan of Russell Crowe's acting, so I did not expect much coming into film. Within the first 10 minutes of the film, I could not take my eyes off the screen.

I adored the 16mm camera used to record this film as it gave the movie an late 70's feel and reminded me of A Clockwork Orange for some reason. The style of the camera work seemed much like a documentarian following the actors around instead of an omnipresent camera person which would have made this film feel a lot less authentic. The props such as the Nazi banner displaying "Deutschland Erwache" (Germany Wake Up) in Hando's room and the Hitler Youth memorabilia were near perfect replicas of those used by the Third Reich in World War II. The attire worn by the actors was a great reflection of the skinhead culture including MA-1 style bomber jackets, Crombie-style overcoats, jeans with parallel legs and turned up cuffs, and bovver boots. The score was masterfully done by John Clifford White with such Nazi Oi! punk songs as The Smack Song and Pulling On The Boots that made the story flow beautifully while at the same time showing pity on the characters instead of glorifying them like I thought it would. Even though I am the farthest thing from a white supremacist, these songs have such a presence that I had to get hold of the soundtrack and immediately add the songs to my play list.

As for the acting, I believe it was well done by the main characters as well as their unidentified adversaries. The acting that I enjoyed the most was Russell Crowe and Daniel Pollock as Hando and Davey, respectively. In my opinion, this is by far my favourite Russell Crowe role because it doesn't have that aura of him believing he is the greatest actor ever that he developed later in his career. I felt rather depressed when I read that Daniel Pollock committed suicide shortly after the film was completed due a battle with a heroin addiction and his break up with co-star Jacqueline McKenzie because even though he didn't say much in the movie, his facial expressions and actions delivered his point better than any words could, and I was hoping I could see more films that he might have acted in.

Although this movie seems on the surface to be about the dissolution of a skinhead group, it was a dramatic love triangle between a true Aryan believer (Hando), a friend just looking to fit in (Davey) and sexually abused drug addled runaway (McKenzie as Gabrielle). As Hando sees that Gabrielle isn't the flawless sex fiend that he believed, he loses interest in her, but still expresses his anger as she develops an affair with Davey. After a series of events that leads to a misunderstanding and an admittance of truth between Gabrielle and the boys, the film ends in a brilliant and ironic use of Chekhov's gun to a selection from Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles.

I suggest this movie to anyone who is a fan of the skinhead subculture and/or American History X. I would recommend this to Russell Crowe fans, but it is completely different style of acting than his later roles.