Romper Stomper
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| Romper Stomper | |
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 Original cinema daybill for Romper Stomper |
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| Directed by | Geoffrey Wright |
| Starring | Russell Crowe Daniel Pollock Jacqueline McKenzie Tony Lee |
| Distributed by | Village Roadshow |
| Release date(s) |  November 14, 1992 (premier at the Sydney Film Festival) May 10, 1993 (premier at the Seattle International Film Festival) September 16, 1992 (premier at the Toronto Film Festival) |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Romper Stomper is a 1992 Australian film directed by Geoffrey Wright starring Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie and Tony Lee. The film follows the exploits and downfall of a racist skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne.
The soundtrack released on Picture This Records includes orchestral music, as well as dark, energetic music similar to the Oi! genre (recorded by studio musicians). The film was nominated for 9 Australian Film Institute Awards, winning Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Original Music Score.
Daniel Pollock, who plays Davey in the film, committed suicide before the film's release by jumping in front of a train. He had been struggling with a serious heroin addiction, as well as the breakup of his romantic relationship with co-star Jacqueline McKenzie. Crowe wrote a song about the suicide called "The Night That Davey Hit the Train" which he later performed with his band 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts.
The film was originally intended to discourage neo-Nazism, but unintentionally became a cult classic among racists.[citation needed]
[edit] Plot summary
The film opens with a group of three Vietnamese Australian teenagers skateboarding down a ramp into Footscray railway station, where they are confronted by a considerably larger group of Nazi skinheads led by Hando (Russell Crowe) and his right-hand man Davey (Daniel Pollock). Hando informs them that "This is not your country" before he and his gang assault them mercilessly.
The next morning, Gabrielle (Jacqueline McKenzie) is shown waiting patiently outside of her house as a voice from inside incomprehensibly rants and raves. A car arrives and two gentleman step out; one being an older and distinguished-looking man named Martin (Alex Scott); the other large and tall. The three enter the house, and are immediately attacked by the source of the raving. The large man quickly incapacitates the delirious occupant, who turns out to be Gabrielle's junkie boyfriend. Gabrielle and Martin quickly adjourn to her room and begin packing her belongings.
Martin chastises Gabrielle for her incessant drug-taking, and her refusal to take the one drug she needs to suppress her epilepsy. Then, taking Gabrielle into his arms, he asks if she has been hurt. Martin slowly caresses her face, his hand dragging down her shoulder, eventually landing on a breast. She freezes up and replies, "Can't you just be nice to me?" He replies that she's always wanted it before, to which Gabe immediately slaps him, and he strikes back with a slap of his own.
That night, at the Railway Hotel Pub, the skinheads arrive for a night of drinking and socializing. There Hando and Davey notice Gabrielle, and the scene cuts to a closed, indoor strip mall where Hando and Gabrielle make out while the rest of the skins terrorize a homeless man. Later, while Hando horseplays with Davey, Gabe admires a coat in a nearby display case. After confirming that she really wants the jacket, Hando picks up a trashcan and throws it through the display window. He takes the coat and Davey steals a beret, cutting his hand in the process.
After running into the night, they go home to a dilapidated, vacant tire warehouse that they rent. Gabrielle cares for Davey's wounded hand, much to his embarrassment, and after bandaging him up, she is literally swept off her feet by Hando and carried off to his room. As Hando strips off Gabe's clothes, Gabe repeatedly asks, "Do you love me?" Hando does not answer.
The next day, the gang are visited by Magoo (John Brumpton), and his group of white power skinheads from Canberra. They throw a big party in their honor, during which both Davey and Hando's complete attention is on Gabe. After the party, Hando once again sweeps Gabrielle off into his room, where they have sex. The dismayed Davey excuses himself and proceeds to take his frustrations out on a punching bag.
The following afternoon, while playing pinball at the Railway Hotel, two of the skinheads notice a family of Vietnamese talking to the pub's owner, closing a deal to buy the bar and turn it into a restaurant. The skins quickly return to the warehouse and inform Hando of the recent Vietnamese acquisition. Both Hando and Magoo's gangs quickly get into a car, and make their way to the pub.
At the bar, more than a dozen skinheads detain and torture two Vietnamese boys. Unbeknownst to them, a third Vietnamese boy sees this and runs to get demands reinforcements. A dozen or so Vietnamese arrive at the bar and a near-riot ensues. A dozen more Vietnamese arrive, and the riot becomes a massacre. Realizing that the odds are against them, Hando, Davey, and the other skinheads who aren't incapacitated make a run for it. The Vietnamese take chase, picking off one or two skins along the way. Some of the neo-Nazis make it back to the warehouse and begin to barricade the doors.
Hando, tired from running and filled with anger, decides he's going to take a stand. Davey and Gabe convince him to continue the retreat. They head out to the roof via a secret door, and are about to make off into the city until Davey realizes that they left Gabrielle's jacket behind. He retrieves the coat without a second to spare, as the Vietnamese bash their way into the warehouse and set it on fire.
The neo-Nazis are quick to commandeer another warehouse, evicting the two previous occupants with promises that if they return, they'll cut their legs off. That night, using the small supply of food in the house, Gabrielle prepares pasta with vegetable sauce, which the skinheads quickly devour (save Hando, who isn't pleased with the "wog crap," and throws his plate against a wall). After dinner, Davey and Gabrielle are washing the dishes, and some inadvertent water splashing turns into a flirtatious towel fight. The frolicking ceases, when the excitement causes Gabe to fall into an epileptic fit. This comes as surprise to the gang, particularly Hando and Davey, who were unaware of her affliction. After this revelation, Hando begins to lose romantic interest.
After the minor medical crisis, the evening's conversation turns to plans of revenge against the Vietnamese. They discuss acquiring firearms, and the gang realises that to purchase guns they will require money. Gabrielle suggests Martin's mansion as a robbery target.
The gang ventures to Martin's house and Gabe charms her way in, as the neo-Nazis wait outside. After about one drink, Martin puts the moves on Gabe, who then pours her beverage on his head (making it look like an accident). While he's away composing himself, she lets in the skinheads. After beating Martin up, they tie him to the toilet, and begin to ransack the house. The neo-Nazis discover Martin's wine collection and start to get drunk.
While Hando and the others smash one of the expensive cars in the garage, Gabe confronts Martin in the bathroom. It is revealed that Martin is Gabe's father, and the burglary is revenge for his years of incestous abuse. Later, in the master bedroom, Gabe and Davey talk about how she wants to take Hando away from this crazy life, perhaps go on a holiday, and take Davey along as well. Martin frees himself, retrieves a pistol hidden in the pantry, and sets out to take back his property. The skinheads narrowly escape, but have no chance to take any of the loot.
The next morning, the gang is disgruntled and bitter, and Hando and Gabe exchange some harsh words. Furious with being dumped, Gabrielle storms out of the warehouse. Davey stops her, and asks if he can come along. She tells him no, and that there is something she has to do. Davey then gives her the address of his grandmother, where he will be staying. She and Davey leave in different directions. Gabe goes to a nearby phone booth and makes an anonymous call to the police.
Davey has gone to his grandmother's house. Gabrielle, unsure of where else to go, shows up and the two converse, then have sex.
After waking up to learn the water has been turned off, Hando wanders outside to investigate. Around the back of the building, he notices the police about to raid their hideout. From the window, Hando watches helplessly as his friends are beaten and arrested; the youngest of the bunch, Bubs (James McKenna), is shot dead after pointing a pistol at police.
Hando searches for Davey at his grandmother's house. He enters the room to find Davey in bed with Gabrielle. After Hando accuses her of selling them out, Davey lies and says she was with him all night (though he doesn't know if she made the phonecall). Hando then pleads to Davey that he is all he has left. With Gabe in tow, they rob a convenience store for some traveling cash and go on the lam.
After driving all night, they stop for a break on a beach. Gabrielle eavesdrops on the last part of a conversation between Hando and Davey, and mistakenly interprets that they are going to leave her behind. Gabrielle sets their getaway car on fire, and openly admits to Hando about phoning the police. Hando, enraged, attacks Gabe, trying to kill her. Davey fights back against Hando in an attempt to save Gabrielle, but Hando merely throws him off as he continues his attack on Gabe. Davey, unable to do anything else, withdraws the Hitler Youth Knife Hando gave him earlier in the film and plants the blade of it in Hando's neck. Davey cradles Gabe as a group of Asian tourists, who had stopped when they saw the fire, stare down at them from above. One women asks another, "Are the all right?" The other woman replies, "I don't know." The film closes with the credits rolling over a shot of the shore seen from the perspective of Hando's corpse.
[edit] Trivia
- Crowe and Pollock were arrested while they walked around Footscray (where the film was filmed) in their skinhead costumes.
- To cut costs, the movie was shot on Super 16 film rather than 35 mm film, and principal photography was kept to six weeks.
- The opening scene at Footscray station was actually shot at Richmond station. The real Footscray station has no below-platform walkway.
- The character of Hando was originally written for Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn. However, Mendelsohn did not look menacing when his head was shaved, whereas Russell Crowe had shaved his head, gotten into character, and had been persistently contacting Geoffrey Wright to reconsider his casting decision. When Wright decided Mendelsohn didn't have the look, the role went to Crowe.
- The words "Deutschland Erwache" on the Nazi banner in Hando's room is German for "Germany awake". The banner looks exactly as they did in the Third Reich, and was designed by Adolf Hitler.
- The gang's clubhouse in the movie is located near the Maribyrnong River on Bunbury Street in Footscray, Melbourne. The building is still there, and still has the bulldog on the rollerdoor.
- In one of the scene's outside the squat, "Cave Clan" can be seen written on the wall in the background.
[edit] External links
 Cinema of Australia |
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Film chronology: 1890s-1930s • 1940s-1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s |
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