Romper Stomper - Bleak and brutal, but worth watching

It’s hard to imagine many times when you actually think to yourself, ‘Hey... I really fancy sitting down to watch a film about Nazi skinheads, beating up people they perceive as different.’ However, just because the subject matter is pretty distasteful, doesn’t mean that the film’s that bad.  

Naturally, a lot of people claim that this film is ‘racist propaganda’ and refuse to watch it.  However, after spending just over ninety minutes in the company of these ‘Hitler worshipping’ Aussie thugs, I can’t see that their lifestyle would come across as very appealing to anyone – even the very impressionable among the audience.  You could hardly want to be like these guys.

The other thing ‘Romper Stomper’ is remembered for is Russell Crowe’s performance as the main skinhead character.  He does play him well – scarily well.  It’s amazing that he was able to build what became quite a diverse career on his angry, monotone performance here.  Russell and his crew spend their days hunting down ‘non white’ residents who they’re convinced are bringing down the neighbourhood and taking it away from the ‘natural’ white race.  And, when they’re not hitting other people, they’re also hitting each other while jumping up and down to ‘shouty’ type skinhead music, spouting the wonders of ‘bald-headed fighting men.’

Just like ‘Trainspotting’ was a film about undesirable junkies, this is a film about undesirable skinheads.  Neither tells you to behave like those on screen, but both offer a world into a (thankfully) niche group of people and the way they live their lives.  You certainly don’t have to like what to see to enjoy the film.  Just be thankful you don’t have Russell and co living next door to you.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that