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The first time I (apparently) saw Romper Stomper was when I was nineteen, after consuming a fair amount of alcohol. The only thing I really concluded from that sitting was that the film relied heavily on shock factor, and very little else.

Within my recent second viewing, Russell Crowe leapt off the screen with the type of menace that I could just about remember. Notably mainly for the actor's breakthrough performance, Romper Stomper tracks the lives of several neo-Nazis, living in Australia, who are seemingly pissed of at the Asian immigrants who've settled into their area. Crowe as Hando, the ruthless leader of the gang, is subdued most of the time, leaving the audience anticipating his next violent outburst; he's a maliciously demanding character, and the plot focuses upon the love triangle involving him, his partner Gabrielle (Jacqueline McKenzie), and friend Davey (Daniel Pollock).

What accounts for an engrossing, if deeply unsettling, performance from Crowe (his best, in my opinion) does not account for being a particularly brilliant story, however. Stomper is more of a character study, concerned with Hando and the other's admiration for Adolf Hitler, rather than being an in-depth, thought-provocative lesson in the politics of white supremacy.

Romper Stomper is memorable for its gruesome showdowns and run-ins with the law; if you're looking for a better study of post-World War II Nazi ideology, however, you'll be best off checking out American History X. 

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.