Romper Stomper (1992)

Director: Geoffrey Wright
Writer: Geoffrey Wright

I've always been touch-and-go with Russell Crowe. He was great in L.A. Confidential (1997) but I think we could have all done without A Beautiful Mind (2001). Then there's an early film he made while still in his native Australia: Romper Stomper. The film centers around Neo-Nazi white-supremicists in early 1990s Australia led by the brutal Hando (Russell Crowe). When his right-hand man Davey (Daniel Pollack) starts to question his role in the group, falls for Hando's girl Gabe (Jacquline McKenzie), and local Vietnamese youths launch a retaliation, the group's fragile existence is ruptured.

Crowe is a force to be reckoned with in Romper Stomper. The same ferocity that teems below the surface many of Crowe's performances is at full tilt here. He seethes with menace not just from the violence he's capable of, displayed in the opening scene, but also the charm he exudes when around his group. He's in total control of all those who associate with him and doles out paternalist punishment accordingly. What makes Hando such a terrifying character is his utter devotion to his ideology. His entire existence is connected to promoting his hate-filled agenda.

The film has connections to other white supremacist-themed films like American History X (1998) and My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) to lesser extent. My Beautiful Laundrette is as much a love story between Omar and Johnny as it is about the cultural rift between the immigrant Pakistani population and extreme right-wing Britons. In American History X, Derek changes his ways while in prison and wants to save his younger brother from a similar fate. Where Romper Stomper departs is the hopelessness of Hando. He cannot change nor will he.
The only hope for change is Davey. Pollack brings a brooding sensitivity to the otherwise bleak scenario. During the interracial fight set piece, the Vietnamese youths outnumbering the skinheads who retreat to their warehouse lair. It's there that Davey sees Hando for the jingoist psychopath he is, willing to take on all other Vietnamese kids by himself. What few skinheads remains of the group abandon the warehouse and hole up in another. Gabe and Davey leave the new hideout as the group begins to unravel. Once the police arrive, tipped off by Gabe, Hando retreats, leaving his follows to either arrest or death. He enlists Davey and Gabe’s help to escape, killing a gas station attendant in the process.

The film's conclusion is Hando's last shot at solidarity with Davey, demanding that they ditch Gabe. She in turns sets their stolen car on fire and admits to calling the police on Hando's group, prompting his full-blown wrath. Davey is forced to choose between his ideals (Hando) and a way out of that lifestyle (Gabe).

While it is obvious that the politics professed by Hando do not work, the film offers no viable solution to the cultural rift. That is where the strength and power of the film comes from, the desperation of the situation. While American History X has a tragic but hopeful ending, Romper Stomper is as nihilistic at the end as it was at the beginning.